The ladies went upstairs, and the men, after the claret had gone round,
followed them. And now it seemed to this rude Highlander that he was
only going from wonder to wonder. Half-way up the narrow staircase was a
large recess dimly lit by the sunlight falling through stained glass,
and there was a small fountain playing in the middle of this grotto and
all around was a wilderness of ferns dripping with the spray, while at
the entrance two stone figures held up magical globes on which the
springing and falling water was reflected. Then from this partial gloom
he emerged into the drawing-room--a dream of rose-pink and gold, with
the air sweetened around him by the masses of roses and tall lilies
about. His eyes were rather bewildered at first; the figures of the
women seemed dark against the white lace of the windows. But as he went
forward to his hostess, he could make out still further wonders of
color; for in the balconies outside, in the full glare of the sun, were
geraniums, and lobelias, and golden calceolarias, and red snapdragon,
their bright hues faintly tempered by the thin curtains through which
they were seen. He could not help expressing his admiration of these
things that were so new to him, for it seemed to him that he had come
into a land of perpetual summer and sunshine and glowing flowers. Then
the luxuriant greenness of the foliage on the other side of Exhibition
Road--for Mrs. Ross's house faced westward--was, as he said, singularly
beautiful to one accustomed to the windy skies of the western isles.

"But you have not seen our elm--our own elm," said Mrs. Ross, who was
arranging some azaleas that had just been sent her. "We are very proud
of our elm. Gertrude, will you take Sir Keith to see our noble elm?"

He had almost forgotten who Gertrude was; but the next second he
recognized the low and almost timid voice that said.