Il6 The Real Charlotte. 



pose I ever was nearer death than I was when the sail was 

 on top of me." 



Francie looked at him for one instant with awe-struck 

 eyes, and Lambert was congratulating himself on having 

 made her realise the seriousness of the situation, when she 

 suddenly burst out laughing. 



" Oh ! " she apologised, " the thought just came into my 

 head of the look of Mrs. Lambert in a widow's cap, and 

 how she'd adore to wear one ! You know she would, now 

 don't you ? " 



" And I suppose you'd adore to see her in one ? " 



" Of course I would ! " She gave him a look that was 

 equivalent to the wag of the tail with which a dog assures 

 the obtuse human being that its worrying and growling are 

 only play. "You might know that without being told. 

 And now perhaps you'll tell me how poor Mrs. Lambert is ? 

 I hear she was greatly upset by the fright she got about you, 

 and indeed you're not worthy of it." 



" She's much better, thank you." 



He looked at Francie under his lowered lids, and tried to 

 find it in his heart to wish that she could sometimes be a 

 little more grown up and serious. She was leaning back 

 with her hat crushed against a trunk of the tree, so that its 

 brim made a halo round her face, and the golden green 

 light that filtered through the leaves of the lime moved like 

 water over her white dress. If he had ever heard the story 

 of ^' Undine " it might have afforded him the comforting 

 hypothesis that this delicate, cool, youthful creature, with 

 her provoking charm, could not possibly be weighted with 

 the responsibility of a soul ; but an unfortunate lack of early 

 culture denied to Mr. Lambert this excuse for the levity 

 with which she always treated him — a man fifteen years 

 older than she was, her oldest friend, as he might say, who 

 had always been kind to her ever since she was a scut of a 

 child. Her eyes were closed ; but an occasional quiver of 

 the long lashes told him that she had no intention of sleep- 

 ing ; she was only pretending to be tired, *' out of tricks," 

 he thought angrily. He waited for a moment or two, and 

 then he spoke her name. The corners of her mouth curved 

 a Httle, but the eyelashes were not raised 



" Are you tired, or are you shamming ? " 



