meditations. Truly matters had gone very crookedly. Maryon Rooke had
been the first cause of all the trouble. Then she herself had
intervened to distract Nan's thoughts by asking Peter to be a pal to
her. And the net result of it all was that Peter, irrevocably bound to
another woman, had fallen in love with Nan, while the latter was
philandering desperately with a totally unsuitable second string.

"Dreaming, Kitty?" said a voice, and looking up with the frown still
wrinkling her pretty brows, she saw Lord St. John approaching.

"If I am, it must be a nightmare, I think!" she answered lugubriously.

The old man's kindly face took on a look of concern.

"Any nightmare that I can dispel, my dear?"

Kitty patted the fine-bred, wrinkled old hand that rested on the edge
of the hammock.

"I know you love to play the fairy godfather to us all, but in this
case I'm afraid you can't help. In fact, you've done all you
could--made her free to choose."

"It's Nan, then?" he said quickly.

Kitty laughed rather mirthlessly.

"'M. Isn't it always Nan who is causing us anxiety one way or another?"

"And just now?"