preoccupied for her allusion. The onyx eyes were
fixed upon her with a polished pressure that must
signify some enriched benevolence. " Let it go, my
dear. We shall, after all, soon enough see."

"If he has come back we shall certainly see,"
Milly after a moment replied; " for he ll probably
feel that he can't quite civilly not come to see
me. Then there," she remarked, " we shall be. It
wouldn't then, you see, come through Kate at all
it would come through him. Except," she wound
up with a smile, " that he won't find me."

She had the most extraordinary sense of interest
ing her interlocutress, in spite of herself, more than
she wanted; it was as if her doom so floated her on
that she couldn't stop by very much the same trick
it had played her with her doctor. " Shall you run
away from him?"

She neglected the question, wanting only now to
get off. " Then," she went on, " you ll deal with
Kate directly."

"Shall you run away from kerf " Mrs. Lowder
profoundly inquired, while they became aware of
Susie's return through the room, opening out behind
them, in which they had dined.

This affected Milly as giving her but an instant;
and suddenly, with it, everything she felt in the con
nection rose to her lips in a question that, even as she
put it, she knew she was failing to keep colourless.
"Is it your own belief that he is with her?"

Aunt Maud took it in took in, that is, everything

[[296]]

p295 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p296w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p297

v?