of her consciously needing, as it were, an alibi
which, successfully, she so found. She had worked
it to the end, ridden it to and fro across the course
marked for Milly by Aunt Maud, and now she had
quite, so to speak, broken it in. " The bore is that
if she wants him so much wants him, heaven for
give her! for me he has put us all out, since your
arrival, by wanting somebody else. I don't mean
somebody else than you."

Milly threw off the charm sufficiently to shake
her head. " Then I haven't made out who it is.
If I'm any part of his alternative he had better stop
where he is."

Truly, truly? always, always?"

Milly tried to insist with an equal gaiety.
"Would you like me to swear?"

Kate appeared for a moment though that was
doubtless but gaiety too to think. " Haven't we
been swearing enough?"

You have perhaps, but I haven t, and I ought to
give you the equivalent. At any rate there it is.
"Truly, truly as you say always, always. So
I'm not in the way."

"Thanks," said Kate "but that doesn't help
me."

"Oh, it's as simplifying for him that I speak of
it."

"The difficulty really is that he's a person with
so many ideas that it's particularly hard to simplify
for him. That's exactly of course what Aunt Maud

[[305]]

p304 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p305w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p306

v?