With the agility of woman, her mind jumped ahead to those little
dinner-parties. Soup one prepared well beforehand; a chicken, _en
casserole_....

Perhaps Osborn saw the abstraction of her mind and was jealous of it;
at the moment she must think of nothing save him, as he could think of
nothing but her. He put his hand under her chin, to lift her dreamy
face, and he kissed her lips possessively.

"Here," he demanded, against them, "what are you thinking about? We're
not going to think of anything or anyone but just ourselves. We're
going to live entirely in the next glorious fortnight, for a whole
fortnight. Have you any objection to that programme, Mrs. Kerr?"

"No, no," said Marie sighing, "no, no! It's beautiful."




CHAPTER III

BEAUTIFUL


The young Kerrs gave themselves a fine time; an amazing time. A dozen
times a day they used to tell each other with a solemn delight how
amazing it all was. When they awoke in the mornings, in a sleeping
apartment far more splendid than any they could ever sanely hope--not
that they were sane--to rent for themselves, when an interested if
_blasée_ chambermaid entered with early tea, finding Marie in one