Both gentlemen were waiting in the Dutch room, which received its name from the fact that it looked out on to the prim garden, with the rows of box-wood, the beds of gaudy tulips and the fantastically clipped yew trees. Guy was in a much more cheerful mood than usual, as he thought that the panacea prescribed by Eustace would make an end of all his troubles, and Gartney himself experienced a wonderful feeling of exhilaration at the near prospect of seeing his visionary lady of Como once more. The soft sweep of a robe, the turning of the handle of the door, and in another moment she stood before him, a fair, gracious woman, who advanced slowly with outstretched hand and a kindly smile. "How do you do, Mr. Gartney, after all this time?" she said sweetly, clasping his extended hand. "I thought we were never going to see you again." Was this the pale, cold Undine he had last seen at Como, more ethereal than the visioned spirits of romance? Was this the perfect, bloodless statue of whom Guy complained? This lovely breathing woman, aflush with all the tender grace of motherhood, with delicately pink cheeks, eyes brilliant with animation, and a voice rich and mellow as the sound of a silver bell. Yes! his prophecy had come true; the haunting, hungry look had departed from her eyes, for in the full satisfaction of the strong maternal instinct the thin, unsubstantial ghost of maidenhood had disappeared; and in this beautiful woman, aglow with exuberant vitality, he recognized the reality of the visionary creation of his dreaming brain. "Did you think I was lost in Arabian solitudes?" he said, recovering from his momentary fit of abstraction. "I'm afraid I'm not the sort of man to be lost. I always come back again, like a modern Prodigal Son." Alizon laughed when he spoke thus, but months afterwards she recollected those careless words. At present, however, she sat down near him, and began to talk, while Guy, who had uttered no word since she entered the room, stood silently at the window, staring out at the quaint Dutch garden. "Now I suppose you are going to stay at home, and tell your tales from your own chimney corner?" said Lady Errington, clasping her hands loosely on her knees. Eustace shook his head. "I thought so the other day, but now--I'm going on an exploring expedition up the Nile." "You must have the blood of the Wandering Jew in your veins." "Or Cain!--he was rather fond of travelling, wasn't he?" "Don't be profane, Mr. Gartney," said Alizon, trying to look serious. "But really you ought to settle down and marry." "Yes, shouldn't he?" observed Guy caustically, turning round. "Go in for the delights of the family circle." "That all depends whether he would appreciate them or not," replied Lady Errington coldly, flashing an indignant look at her husband, upon which Eustace to avoid unpleasantness made a hasty observation.