Lois looked up with dissent in her eyes.
Mrs. Lancaster shook her head.
"No. He will never be in love with me again."
The girl gave a quick intaking of her breath, her hand clutching at her throat.
"Oh, Mrs. Lancaster!" She was thinking aloud rather than speaking. "I thought that you cared for him."
Alice Lancaster shook her head. She tried to meet frankly the other's eyes, but as they gazed deep into hers with an inquiry not to be put aside, hers failed and fell.
"No," she said, but it was with a gasp.
Lois's eyes opened wide, and her face changed.
"Oh!" she murmured, as the sense of what she had done swept over her. She rose to her feet and, bending down, kissed Mrs. Lancaster tenderly. One might have thought she was the elder of the two.
Lois returned home in deep thought. She had surprised Mrs. Lancaster's secret, and the end was plain. She allowed herself no delusions. The dream that for a moment had shed its radiance on her was broken. Keith was in love with Mrs. Lancaster, and Alice loved him. She prayed that they might be happy--especially Keith. She was angry with herself that she had allowed herself to become so interested in him. She would forget him. This was easier said than done. But she could at least avoid seeing him. And having made her decision, she held to it firmly. She avoided him in every way possible.