the cause of the mishap--had she stared noticeably, and he been angry
at an impertinence? Her cheeks burned and in a misery of shyness she
forced her eyes to his face. Her contrition was needless. Heedless of
her he was looking at the splintered glass between his fingers with a
faint expression of surprise, as if his wandering thoughts were but
half recalled by the accident. For a moment he stared at the shattered
pieces--then laid them down indifferently.

Gillian smothered an hysterical inclination to laugh. He was so
totally negligent of her presence that even this little incident
had failed to make him sensible of her scrutiny. Immersed in his
thoughts he was very obviously miles away from Craven Towers and
the vicinity of a troublesome ward. And suddenly it hurt. She was
nothing to him but a shy _gauche_ girl whose very existence
was an embarrassment. The determination so bravely formed died
before his cold detachment. More than ever was speech impossible.

She shrugged faintly with a little pout. So, confident of his
preoccupation, she continued to study him. Had the homecoming
intensified the sadness of his eyes and deepened the lines
about his mouth?--were memories of the mother he had adored
sharpening tonight the look of suffering on his face? Or was her
imagination, over-excited, exaggerating what she saw and fancying
a great sorrow where there was only boredom? She pondered, and
had almost concluded that the latter was the saner explanation
when--watching--she saw a sudden spasm cross his face of such agony
that she caught her lip fiercely between her teeth to stifle an
exclamation. In the fleeting expression of a moment she had seen
the revelation of a soul in torment. She looked away hastily,
feeling dismayed at having trespassed. She had discovered a