Guy had more the figure of an athlete, and his quiet, easy manner gave the impression that his passions were well under control.  He looked a man to be trusted; there was a firm, yet tender look in his eyes that was not unfelt by the man who sat opposite him.  Both were handsome men, though of a different type, but Hugh’s face lacked something that could be felt, if not described in the one opposite.

Gussie’s shrill voice in the hall gave Dexie an opportunity to leave the room, and she hastened to do so, as something had evidently gone wrong, and Gussie was protesting and scolding in audible tones, though the words were not intelligible.

“Hush!  Gussie! someone is with papa.  What is the trouble?”

“Who is it?  Is it company of yours that Eliza is so flurried over that she cannot attend to me?”

“Mr. McNeil has arrived, Gussie; don’t let him hear you talk like that.”

“Oh! he has come at last, has he?  Well, it’s high time!  How long is he going to stay, Dexie?”

But her questions remained unanswered, for Dexie was talking to her mother on domestic matters, and presently they all assembled in Mr. Sherwood’s room.

Gussie soon noticed how intently Hugh was watching Guy Traverse, and she made up her mind to “tell Hugh a thing or two” regarding Dexie’s behavior, for since the night Gussie had decided in her own mind about Dexie’s ring she saw there was an unexpected intimacy between her sister and this engaged young man.  She wondered how it happened that Guy was present at that hour; it would complicate matters with Dexie, surely, but to her surprise she found herself paired off with Hugh as they went to the supper table.

“You should have returned long ago, Hugh,” she whispered.  “Dexie has developed into a desperate flirt!  Just now it is Mr. Traverse, as you can see for yourself, though she is aware he is engaged to a lady in the city.”

“Gussie, are you sure of what you are saying?  Is this only a flirtation?”

“Well, I don’t see what else you can call it.”

“Do you think she has given me up?  I have come on purpose to find out.”

“Oh! is that all you have come for?  Why, I thought it was a settled thing between you.  Then she must be going to marry you just for your money! and now that I think of it, she said as much,” said Gussie bluntly.

There was no chance for further conversation, but Gussie’s words raised all sorts of questions in Hugh’s mind, and he watched the couple on the opposite side of the table, his hopes and fears alternately rising.

Dexie’s manner bore out her father’s statement, but how was it that Gussie looked at the matter so differently.

As they rose from the table Guy stood for a moment talking to Mrs. Sherwood, but Hugh crossed over at once to the window where Dexie was standing, bending over some flowers.

In his quick, eager tone, Hugh asked: