"I am quite skeptical and indifferent to the whole affair, but I agree
with Octavia that it is best to say nothing to my aunt if she is
ignorant of the matter. Her rooms are a long way off, and perhaps she
did not hear the confusion."

"You seem to hear everything; you were not with us when I said that."
And Octavia looked up with an air of surprise.

Smiling significantly, Treherne answered, "I hear, see, and understand
many things that escape others. Jasper, allow me to advise you to smooth
the hair which your sleep has disarranged. Mrs. Snowdon, permit me. This
rich velvet catches the least speck." And with his handkerchief he
delicately brushed away several streaks of white dust which clung to the
lady's skirt.

Sir Jasper turned hastily on his heel and went to remake his toilet;
Mrs. Snowdon bit her lip, but thanked Treherne sweetly and begged him to
fasten her glove. As he did so, she said softly, "Be more careful next
time. Octavia has keen eyes, and the major may prove inconvenient."

"I have no fear that _you_ will," he whispered back, with a
malicious glance.

Here the entrance of my lady put an end to the ghostly episode, for it
was evident that she knew nothing of it. Octavia slipped away to
question John, and learn that no sign of a phantom was to be seen.
Treherne devoted himself to Mrs. Snowdon, and the major entertained my
lady, while Sir Jasper and the girls chatted apart.

It was Christmas Eve, and a dance in the great gallery was the yearly