She sat on the arm of his chair, and played with the lapel of his coat. “Don’t forget about me, Dudley. If you are just only miserable, I shall be miserable too.” He looked at her with a sudden greater depth of affection than she had ever seen. “I don’t forget, Hal. If it weren’t for you, what in the world should I do now?… It’s no use talking about it, is it? You will understand that; but thank God you’re still here with me, and we can go on the same again.” She stooped and kissed him hurriedly, and then left the room, that he might not see the tears brimming over in her eyes. The next morning she rang up Lorraine’s flat, to know if she had come back yet. She was rather surprised when Jean her maid answered. It was not like Lorraine to go away without her maid. “You don’t know when to expect her?…” she repeated uncertainly. “No; Miss Vivian said she might come any day, or she might stay over another Sunday. She has the motor with her.” “Is she far from a station?” Hal asked, contemplating the possibility of joining her on Saturday if she had not returned. “About seven miles, I think. She went down in the car, and is coming back in it. I have had one letter, in which she says she is having lovely weather, and absolute rest, and feeling much better.” “That’s good. Well, if she comes back suddenly will you ask her to ’phone me? I want to see her.” But neither the next day nor the one after was there any call, and in reply to a second query on Saturday, Jean said she had only received a wire that morning saying she was staying until Tuesday. Hal was a little puzzled that she had not been invited down for the second weekend, but decided Lorraine must have meant to return and changed her mind at the last moment, leaving no time to get a message to her. A later encounter with Dick, however, puzzled her more than ever. “Old Alymer is taking quite a long holiday,” he said. “We were expecting him on Tuesday or Wednesday, but he never turned up. He was at the Temple on Thursday, but went away again in the evening.” “I hope Lorraine isn’t ill?” she said anxiously; “but of course if she is, she would have sent for Jean.” “Is he away with Miss Vivian?” Dick asked in some surprise. “Yes; I made him go,” loyally. “He had scruples, but really they seemed too silly, and Lorraine looked so ill, and he always has the knack of cheering her up and doing her good.” Dick looked at her doubtfully. “I hope you were wise,” he said; “but they are rather fascinating people, you know.” “Oh, nonsense! Lorraine is quite eleven years older than Alymer, and she only likes to look at him.” Dick had it in his mind to suggest there had been a far greater disparity between her and Sir Edwin, but he only said: “Well, he is good to look at, isn’t he?… and such a dear old chap. Nothing seems to spoil him. And of course Miss Vivian has done an awful lot for him. If she wanted him to go, he could hardly refuse.”