afterwards."

Alice looked at him with a curious gleam in her eyes that made his
heart beat.

"It was a very strong temptation," she said quietly and stopped as Mrs.
Featherstone came in.




VII

THE PACKET

When he had been a few days at the Garth, Foster thought he had better
take Carmen's packet to Edinburgh. She had said nothing about its
being urgent and he did not want to go, but he must keep his promise
and would afterwards be at liberty. Mrs. Featherstone had given him to
understand that he was to make the Garth his headquarters as long as he
stayed in England, and he looked forward to doing so with much content.
The more he saw of his hosts, the better he liked them, and it was a
privilege to enjoy Alice Featherstone's friendship. She had, of
course, given it him for her brother's sake, but he must try to keep it
on his merits.

Since he had seen Alice he began to understand Carmen better. Carmen
had charm and knew how to use it to her advantage, while he could not
imagine Alice's employing her beauty to gain an object. She was proud,
with an essentially clean pride, and sincere, while Carmen had a talent