The detective broke the short silence which followed. "I won't detain you longer, Mrs. Winthrop. I am exceedingly obliged to you for the information you have furnished. Mr. Hunter, are you coming down town?" Douglas nodded an affirmative as he rose. Mrs. Winthrop and Colonel Thornton detained Brett with a question as he was leaving the room. Douglas seized his opportunity, and crossed over to Eleanor's side. "How have you been since I saw you last, Miss Thornton?" he inquired. "Very well, thanks. And you?"--Eleanor inspected him with good-natured raillery: "You look--as serious as ever." Douglas reddened. "It has been my lot in life to have to take things seriously. I'm not such a Puritan as you evidently think me." "Come and see me, and perhaps on better acquaintance"--she paused. "What?" "You will improve." Her charming, roguish smile robbed the words of their sting. "You think then that I am an acquired taste?" "I have not seen enough of you to know." "When may I call on you?" She parried the question with another. "Why did you leave Paris without saying good-bye to me?" The simple question sobered Douglas. It brought back an unpleasant recollection best forgotten. Eleanor's bewitching personality had always exerted an extraordinary influence over him. He found himself watching her every movement, instinct with grace, and eagerly waiting to catch her smile. In Paris he had often cursed himself for a fool, even when attending a reception just to catch a glimpse of her. She was a born coquette, and could no more help enjoying an innocent flirtation than a kitten could help frolicking. It was her intense femininity which had first attracted him. Frightened at the influence she unconsciously exerted over him, he had deliberately avoided her--and Fate had thrown them together again. It was Kismet! Therefore, why not enjoy the goods the gods provided and be thankful? "'Time and tide wait for no man,'" he quoted. "I had to catch a steamer at a moment's notice, hence the 'P. P. C.' card. Please show your forgiveness, and let me call." "And if I don't?" "Why, I'll come anyway." Eleanor's eyes twinkled. "Bravo. I like the spirit of young Lochinvar." "He came out of the West, whereas I come out of the East." "Oh, well, extremes meet." "Then don't be surprised if I carry you off." The words were spoken in jest, but the look in Douglas' eyes caused Eleanor to blush hotly. "Marse Brett am awaitin' fo' yo', suh," said Joshua from the doorway, breaking in on the _tête-à-tête_. "Oh,--ah,--yes." Douglas was suddenly conscious of the absence of the others. "Miss Thornton, I had no idea I was detaining you. Please say good-by to Mrs. Winthrop and your uncle. I never realized in Paris that you belonged to _the_ Thorntons in Georgetown."