they do see you, you have your cloak on; they will think you have
been in the garden earlier than usual. As you pass the upper
door, draw back the bolts quietly, and I can let myself in."

She bent her head in silence. He looked after her as she hastened
away from him over the lawn; conscious of admiring her, conscious
of more than he dared realize to himself. When she disappeared,
he turned back to wait where she had been waiting. With his sense
of the duty he owed to his wife penitently present to his mind,
the memory of that fatal kiss still left its vivid impression on
him. "What a scoundrel I am!" he said to himself as he stood
alone in the summer-house, looking at the chair which she had
just left.


Chapter X.


Kitty Mentions Her Birthday.


A clever old lady, possessed of the inestimable advantages of
worldly experience, must submit nevertheless to the laws of
Nature. Time and Sleep together--powerful agents in the small
hours of the morning--had got the better of Mrs. Presty's
resolution to keep awake. Free from discovery, Sydney ascended
the stairs. Free from discovery, Sydney entered her own room.

Half-an-hour later, Linley opened the door of his dressing-room.
His wife was still sleeping. His mother-in-law woke two hours