"Yes; she is my cousin."
"So much the better for you. It's a liberal education to have a cousin as clever as that. Good-by. Thank you both for coming."
She rang as she spoke, and handed the young men over to the maid who appeared; the maid in turn handed them over to the footman, and by him they were seen safely out of the house. As they turned away from the door, Ashe sighed deeply, while Wynne was smiling to himself.
"What a—a—what a woman!" Philip said fervently. "She's amazing!"
"Oh, yes," his friend laughed; "but what do you or I know about women anyway?"
VI
HEART-BURNING HEAT OF DUTY
Love's Labour's Lost, i. 1.
As Philip Ashe, his eyes cast down in earnest thought, approached Mrs. Frostwinch's gate that afternoon, he looked up suddenly to find himself face to face with Mrs. Fenton. She was dressed in dark, heavy cloth, set down the waist with small antique buckles of dark silver; and seemed to him the perfection of elegance and beauty.
"Good morning, Mr. Ashe," she greeted him, smiling. "I did not expect to find you coming to hear Mrs. Crapps."
"To hear Mrs. Crapps?" he echoed. "Who is Mrs. Crapps?"