Gertrude coloured angrily and his mother said gently, "Conway, dear!"
"Well!" said Willie's drawly voice again, "I should like to know what a girl looks for in a fellow. What should you expect, for instance, Gertrude?"
One word rose involuntarily to Gertrude's lips, but she choked it back.
"My dear Willie!" she said with her easy laugh.
And that same word had risen to Conway's lips, but with a tremendous effort he too choked it back. Gertrude always aggravated him, and it was a daily fight with him to be civil to her.
He rose abruptly and went into the garden, and in a few minutes the others drifted after him, and Mr. and Mrs. Brougham were left alone.
"It is nice to see them all together like this," said Mrs. Brougham fondly, as she watched the moving figures in the garden.
There was a smile in Mr. Brougham's eyes as he quoted—
| "And the ancient arrow maker |
| Turned again unto his labour, |
| Sat down by his sunny doorway, |
| Murmuring to himself, and saying, |
| That it is our daughters leave us." |
"We shan't have to part with little Maud—yet," answered Mrs. Brougham with a low laugh.