‘Good child.’ He tightened his arm for a moment before he let her go.

Then. glancing at his watch, he gave an exclamation.

‘I had no idea it was so late. I must go. There are several things I shall have to do before to-morrow. For one, I must see about keeping on my flat until we can get something that suite us better.’

‘Yes,’ Alison said. And she was oddly stirred at the mention of their future life together, just as she had been when Jennifer had spoken of their honeymoon.

‘Would you like me to see your aunt and uncle, and explain about our remaining in England?’

‘No, it doesn’t matter.’ Alison smiled faintly at his unconscious assumption that she needed to have things done for her. He would never think of her as entirely grown up. ‘I’ll explain. I’ll just say we’re postponing the trip indefinitely.’

‘Yes, that might be best.’

She went with him into the hall, and he said good night to her kindly but a little absently, his thoughts already on the many things he had to do.

When he had gone, she went slowly upstairs. She hung the wonderful mink coat in the wardrobe beside her wedding-dress. It looked very beautiful there.

‘The bridegroom’s present to the bride was a mink coat.’

But the bride had not been able to kiss him for it. Even that had been denied her. He had forgotten all about that timid suggestion of hers, of course. It was quite natural that he should. But she had remembered. That was natural, too.

She put out her hand and touched the coat wistfully.

Then very quietly she closed the wardrobe door on her wedding-dress and the present from the bridegroom.

She supposed she ought to go downstairs and explain to the others about the change of plans. But for the moment she flinched from the thought of playing her part in front of them all over again-being questioned, perhaps even being laughed at by Rosalie, who had come home from her prolonged visit only that afternoon.

And as she sat there on the side of her bed, trying to get up her courage, there was a knock at the door.

‘Come in.’

Alison looked up as the door opened and Audrey, in her dressing-gown, insinuated herself round it.

‘Why, Audrey, you ought to be in bed and asleep!’

‘Yes, I know.’ Audrey was quite unabashed. ‘But I wanted to see your wedding-dress. I haven’t seen anything interesting-not being allowed to come home from school until to-day, and then being hustled in and out of my own dress and having my hair done, and being sent off to bed early and all that sort of thing. You’d think it was Mother’s own wedding,’ she added bitterly.

Alison laughed.

‘But you’ll see my dress to-morrow,’ she said.

‘That’s not the same thing at all.’ Audrey was firm.

‘All right,’ Alison went over and opened the wardrobe door once more.

‘Ooooh!’ Audrey sucked in her breath on an admiring sigh. ‘You’ll look awfully good in that.’

‘I hope so,’ Alison said, touched by the little girl’s interest.

‘And what a marvellous fur coat!’ Audrey turned her attention to that next.

‘Yes, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ Alison felt her own pleasure in the coat revive at Audrey’s enthusiasm ‘That’s Julian’s present to me,’ she added a little shyly.

‘My goodness! I should think Rosalie’ll be sick she lost him when she sees that,’ Audrey remarked with great candour.

‘Audrey! You mustn’t say such things.’ Distress and nervousness sharpened Alison’s voice.

‘Sorry. But it’s true. Rosalie would almost have put up with going to South America to have that. Still, she’d have loathed South America, when it came to the point,’ Audrey added. ‘And I expect you’ll quite enjoy it.’

There was a second or two’s silence, and then Alison said flatly:

‘We’re not going to South America.’

‘Not going?’

‘No.’ Alison went on hastily, because she felt she couldn’t bear too many exclamations and questions. ‘Julian’s firm have just cabled to say they’re making other arrangements.’

‘And so Julian is going to live in England after all?’

‘I suppose so.’

‘My goodness!’ said Audrey, that being her chief exclamation of the moment. ‘Won’t Rosalie be sold!’

‘Audrey!’ Alison said rather faintly, but it failed to stem Audrey’s half-shocked jubilation.

‘Why, she only threw him over because she didn’t want to leave England. She’ll chew her finger-ends off when she hears.’

‘That will do.’ Alison spoke sternly enough to suppress even Audrey. ‘Your sister has nothing to do with this. She’s -she’s happily engaged to Rodney Myrton and it can’t matter to her whether Julian and I live in London or in Buenos Aires. Now go along to bed, or I shall be really angry with you.’

Audrey retreated then, but the last thing Alison heard was a scornful mutter of ‘Happily engaged!’

It frightened her terribly to have Audrey putting her own fears into words.

Was it really true that Rosalie had only thrown Julian over because she couldn’t face living abroad? It couldn’t be the only reason, of course. There must have been some sort of a quarrel, too. But probably that was at the back of it.

Alison pressed her hands against her eyes with a weary little gesture.

It was no good tormenting herself with doubts now. As Julian had said, for good or bad they had made their decision. They would have to stand by it.

It was quite late when Alison woke up, and the pale sunshine of a cold October day was struggling into the room.

Then she realised that Prentiss, her aunt’s maid, was standing beside the bed, holding a breakfast tray, her usually rather frost-bitten expression warmed by a smile.

‘Why, Prentiss, how kind of you.’ Alison leaned up on her elbow and smiled in return.

‘Madam said you were to have your breakfast in bed, miss and then to stay quiet until it’s time for you to dress. I’ll come and see to everything. Help you dress and fix your hair and everything.’

‘Oh. thank you very much,’ Alison said, a little nonplussed at this unwonted attention, and she watched with some amusement while Prentiss went over and pulled the curtains aside.

But as she ate her breakfast she became very serious again.

This morning she was to marry Julian.

It might be a strange marriage It might be scarcely a marriage at all in some senses of the word. But the fact remained. she was to be Julian’s wife; to have some significance in his life unshared by any other woman.

She lay back again, feeling curiously awed and humble.

‘I’ll be good to you, Julian,’ she thought very tenderly. ‘You haven’t found people very kind, but I’ll try never to hurt you as the others have.’

She didn’t name Rosalie even in her own thoughts, because she had an idea that she didn’t want to have any feelings of bitterness and resentment just now. But; in some indefinable way, she felt that it was for her to bridge the gap that had been torn in Julian’s happiness and affections.

It was that thought which kept her very quiet and serious while she was dressing-all the time Prentiss was brushing her shining hair and fastening her into the wedding-dress.

Her aunt came in just as the yards of rosy tulle veil were being adjusted.

‘Yes, very nice,’ she said, inspecting Alison critically. ‘No, no, Prentiss-a little further forward on her head. That’s better. Now don’t forget to hold your head up, Alison, when you are coming out, You can look down and be as shy as you like when you come in. It isn’t important then. But raise your head when you are coming out of the church. Otherwise it doesn’t give the Press photographers a chance, and you’ll look as though you have a double chin.’

‘Very well, Aunt Lydia,’ Alison promised meekly. It amused her a little that, when it came to the point, her aunt had been quite unable to keep up her apparent lack of interest in anything which appealed to her so strongly as a social show.