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“You still haven’t told me why you have changed your mind about marrying me,” Desmond interrupted.

“Well—” Judith said slowly. “Partly realising how much I am disliked about here ”

“Not nearly so much as Saxilby makes out, I’ll swear to that!” he said quickly,. “Besides, what difference ”

“I haven’t explained everything yet,” Judith said hurriedly. “You see, Des, when we get married, we shan’t live here!”

“Not live—!” He stared at her incredulously. Judith’s eyes dropped.

“No, I want to get right away from here—never come back!” she explained in a tight, brittle little voice. “I thought we might travel—I expect I shall get a taste for it in the next few months, and you would enjoy getting out of England, wouldn’t you?”

He nodded slowly.

“It has been one of my greatest ambitions,” he admitted. “But ”

“Well?” she asked coolly.

“I would never have believed that you— Judith, is that your only reason? I suppose—” he hesitated—“you aren’t in love with someone else, are you? Someone that isn’t—that doesn’t ”

“That isn’t in love with me?” she asked hardly, and laughed. “My dear Des, whatever made you think of such a thing! No, I’m completely fancy free!”

“I’m glad of that!” Desmond said quickly, and suddenly his arms were round her. “You think I want to marry you for the sake of your money, don’t you? No, don’t deny it! It’s so obvious. And I don’t blame you. I admit that it was my reason for proposing to you! But—something happened to me that day when I asked you—I’d tell you that I had fallen in love with you, only I don’t suppose for a moment ”

“That I should believe you?” she finished. “No, I shouldn’t! And you did say we had better be honest.”

He stared down into her cool, impersonal eyes.

“This is honest!” he said in a thick, hurried voice that she had never heard before. “I do love you, Judith! And I swear I’ll teach you ”

His lips came down hard on hers, and at their touch Judith’s heart seemed to die in her. Perhaps Desmond did love her—a little. But however much it was, she knew that he would never be able to stir a like emotion in her.

And perhaps Desmond knew it as well. Against the warmth of his lips her own lay cold and unresponsive. It was true that she did not shrink from him, but neither did she quicken to his touch.

Unwillingly, and yet with a curious tenderness, he let her go and turned away.

“I’ll take you home now,” he said quietly. “Make whatever arrangements you think best—you can rely on me to fall in with them!”

“Very well,” she agreed lifelessly. “I suppose you told Linda before you came up to Windygates, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I was a bit taken aback, you see.”

“It doesn’t matter in the least,” Judith assured him. “After all, she is one of the family, isn’t she? And I told Aunt Harriet, so ”

He turned impetuously to her.

“Judith ” he began. And stopped.

“Yes?” she asked indifferently.

“No, nothing!” he said shortly, and turned the car in a homeward direction.

It was no good. In her present mood he knew that he could not reach Judith. There was a barrier between them, one that had put an end even to their friendship.

Judith was a stranger to him. It was as if she were under a spell—and one that, in his heart of hearts, he knew that he would never be able to break.

Linda looked, up curiously as her brother came in.

“Well?” she asked.

He flung himself down in a chair which creaked violently.

“What do you mean; ‘Well’?” he asked irritably.

Linda remained completely unperturbed by his display of bad temper.

“You know perfectly well what I mean,” she said calmly, lighting a cigarette. “And be careful with that chair! The worst of these antiques is that though they may look good, they have to be treated with respect. Now tell me what happened!”

Desmond knew perfectly well what she meant, but he found himself wishing that he had not been surprised into displaying his astonishment when Judith had rung up.

“Not much to tell you. I proposed to Judith that day we had the scavenger hunt. At the time it took her so much by surprise that she turned me down. But I told her that so long as there was no one else, I wasn’t going to take that as final, and I should keep on hoping. Well, now she’s changed her mind and she has told me so, as I asked her to. We are going to get married. That’s all!”

“Is it?” she asked, and had her brother been less immersed in his own affairs he might have realised that her curiosity was more than touched with anxiety.

“Oh—she’s getting rid of Windygates,” Desmond added, far more casually than he felt the news really deserved.

“Is she, though!” Linda said softly. “That’s news indeed!”

Desmond suddenly awoke to the fact that there was some meaning in her words which for the moment evaded him.

“Did you know that she was going to?” he asked sharply.

Linda shrugged her shoulders gracefully.

“I had an idea she might,” she admitted thoughtfully. “Well, isn’t that nice for you! You won’t have to go to all the trouble of pretending to be interested in the farm!”

“It wouldn’t have been pretence,” Desmond said shortly. “I expect it seems a bit odd to you, but as a matter of fact, I’d have liked it. Still ”

“Still, if Judith decides otherwise, you are in no position to object, are you?” Linda spoke softly. It was not that she had any particular desire to annoy him, but she did want to get to the bottom of it all. The more one knew, the fewer mistakes one was likely to make, and she was neither too vain nor too dense to realise that she was as yet far from accomplishing all she had set out to do. “Des, I wish for once in your life you’d be straightforward with me! Why did Judith suddenly change her mind?”

“How do you know it was sudden?” he asked. “Because, for one thing, it was such an odd time that she rang you up!” Linda retorted. “She knew perfectly well that it must be inconvenient for you—particularly racing up to Windygates then and there. Besides, you were as surprised as I was!”

Desmond regarded her thoughtfully.

“Anyone would think, from the way you speak, that you know something yourself!” he told her. “Wait a minute! Of course, she was down here earlier in the day! All that has happened since had put it out of my mind! And you very obviously wanted me out of the way! What did you say to her after I had gone, Linda?” His sister smiled mockingly at him.

“You know, Des, there are times when I begin to feel really hopeful about you! You are not such a fool as I had feared!”

“Never mind the bouquets,” he said roughly, standing up and towering over her. “What did you say?” Linda laughed softly.

“ I
helped on your cause quite a bit, if you must know,” she announced. “You see, it became rather painfully evident that somehow or other Charles had contrived to get into her good books! He’s certainly tried hard enough!”

“Is he in love with her?” Desmond asked sharply.

“We-ll,” Linda deliberated, “I wouldn’t call it just that. But I should say that Charles is not a man who has ever come up against much opposition where women are concerned. He is—attractive in more ways than one.”

“One, of course, being money. At least, as far as you are concerned,” Desmond remarked.

“Quite. After all, you and I are akin, Des. We see eye to eye in so many things! You wouldn’t call Judith exactly poverty-stricken, would you?”

“Never mind that,” he said brusquely. “Get on with it!”

“Judith, on the other hand, has obviously had no use for him at all! She has, as I told her, been extremely rude to him. But he has taken it from her. Ask yourself why!”

Desmond went over to the window and stared out at the quiet little High Street.

“1 suppose you mean that she had intrigued him— that his vanity won’t be satisfied until he has got the mastery over her,” he said slowly. “All right, suppose that is true. Where do you come in?”

Linda laughed softly.

“Really, Des, you’re not so bright as I had thought!” she told him. “Think for yourself! I’m not the only person who thinks that he has been after Judith. Well, now she is engaged to you! Do you think he is going to give people the chance to laugh at him? Oh no, he’ll get engaged himself—and it will be to someone that people know he has been friendly with. Otherwise, it would not seem natural!”

“In other words, you?”

“Exactly!”

“H’m!” Desmond pondered. “You’ve been uncommonly clever,” he said at length. “And I’m perfectly willing to admit that you probably started things off! But I’m equally sure you have had a tremendous lot of luck as well!”

“I have!” she admitted unhesitatingly. After all, it had only been a guess on her part that Charles would like Windygates for his own. Nor had she imagined for a moment that he had admitted as much to Judith, and it still puzzled her just how that had come about. There were other things as well. The way in which Judith had suddenly turned to Desmond.

“So have I!” she heard him say fervently, and his tone caught her attention.

“You’ve been up to something!” she insisted. “You’d better tell me—oh, you needn’t be afraid! Am I in any position to tell tales on you? If I did, I admit that I’d give myself away as well!”

“Well—” he said reluctantly. “I’ve been a bit of a fool at the horse-races. I knew it wasn’t any good trying to get anything out of you.”

“I’m glad you’ve got that much sense,” she observed drily. “Go on! What did you do? Confess all to Judith and appeal to her womanly sweetness?”

He moved impatiently as if her cynicism grated, but he made no comment about it.

“No. I—if you must know, I forged her name to a cheque.

“Des, you fool!” Linda said vehemently.

“Knave is the proper word,” he said drearily. “Anyway, old Tiverton picked it up and took it to Judith for confirmation. She, for some reason or other, didn’t give me away. Instead, she rang me up, explained what had happened—except that she spoke as if she
had
signed the cheque, and asked me to come and confirm the fact that we were engaged. I told you that part.”

“You did indeed!” Linda said abstractedly. So, in spite of her denials, Judith was in love with Charles! And she had turned to Des for exactly the same motive as would, if all went well, bring Charles to her, Linda! What a useful thing vanity was! People so hated to look small, and if one had a little bit of ingenuity, one could make such use of the fact!

Suddenly she laughed. Triumphantly, exultantly.

“You know, Des, it was a bit steep of me to criticise you for gambling! If ever there were two of a sort, it is you and I! I suppose we get it from Father—only I think we have more nerve than he had!”

Desmond regarded her thoughtfully.

“You have,” he admitted. “You would go right through to the bitter end with anything that you started.”

“Wouldn’t you?” she retorted. He hesitated, then he shook his head.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I say, here
is
Charles!” There was a certain reluctant admiration in his voice as he went on: “Well, I’ll say this for you, you’re a good psychologist! I’d better clear out, hadn’t I?”

“You had!” she agreed energetically. “As far and fast as you possibly can! And I hope to goodness no one comes in wanting tea for the next half-hour! Wait a moment until I see which way he is coming in, and then you had better make yourself scarce the other way! Oh—he’s going to the back! Out you go, Des, and don’t come back until you see that Charles’s car has gone!” She went out into the kitchen, a song on her lips, a welcome in her eyes.

“Charles! How lovely!” she said warmly. “It is so rarely that my friends turn up when I am free, but there isn’t a soul in yet for tea. Let’s have some together and pretend that you are the only guest I am likely to Have this afternoon. Come along!”

Charles came slowly into the kitchen, and involuntarily Linda took a step away from him. As he had stood in the open doorway she had been blinded by the glare of the sun behind him. Now, for the first time, she saw his face clearly. There was no answering smile on it, no gratification at her welcome. Instead, it was stem and—threatening. Linda felt her heart begin to pound. “Charles!” she faltered. “Charles!”

He came near to her. So near that she could have laid her hands on his shoulders and turned her face up to his—if she had dared!

“I want to know what lies you have been telling Judith about me!” he said without preamble.

“I?” She tried to laugh naturally, but the sound strangled in her throat. “Charles, how absurd! What on earth makes you say a thing like that?”

“You don’t deny that you saw her this morning, do you?” he demanded.

“No, I don’t,” she said readily. “Judith came in to see Des—and I was about. Of course I saw her.”

“And talked to her?” he wanted to know.

“Naturally! I’ll tell you what we talked about if you like!” she offered.

“Do!” he said curtly.

“We were talking about the wedding,” she said calmly.

“Whose wedding?” he enquired sharply.

“Whose?” she arched her slender brows. “Why, hers and Desmond’s of course.”

Suddenly his hand fell on her shoulder. He did not grip it, but she felt as if the weight of it would press her to the ground.

“You are lying again!” he gritted.

“Really, Charles!” she said with an indignation that was not all put on. Like so many people, her lies, once uttered, became almost the truth to her simply because she wanted them to be. “Well, if you don’t believe me, ask Des! Or, if you don’t trust him, Judith—or Miss Harriet!”

She saw that he was less sure of himself, and for the first time since he had come into the house she found herself breathing more naturally.

“There hasn’t been time,” he muttered.

“Time?” she said curiously. “I don’t understand! They’ve known each other for years—and actually, they have been secretly engaged for some time. Only now, for reasons of their own which they have not even told me, they have suddenly decided to announce it. I can’t tell you any more than that!”