Her gay young laugh rang out as they began to dance. "Isn't it fun?" she said; and then, with her eyes turned to his, "Trevor, I've such a crowd of things to thank you for that I don't know where to begin."
"Then, my dear child, don't begin!" he said, with his indulgent smile.
She frowned at him. "You are not to call me 'child' any longer. I'm grown-up."
His smile remained. "Since when?" he said.
"That's a rude question which I am not going to answer. But, Trevor, you--you shouldn't have sent me all that money. It's much more than I want."
"I'm glad to hear it," he said; and, after a moment, "I hope you will spend it profitably."
"Oh, yes." Eagerly she made reply. "I've bought a new collar for Cinders--such a beauty, with bells! I thought it would be so useful if he went rabbiting."
"Oh, no! I never thought of that! Poor Cinders! It would spoil his sport, wouldn't it? And he's such a sportsman. I suppose I shall have to keep it for Sundays after all. What a pity! I thought it would help us to find him if he got lost."
"But he always turns up again," said Mordaunt consolingly.
Her blue eyes flashed their sunshine. "Yes, yes, of course. And another thing I did which ought to please you very much."
The indulgence turned to approval on Mordaunt's face. "I can guess what that was," he said.
"Can you?" Chris looked delighted. "Well, you mustn't tell Aunt Philippa, because she would call it shocking extravagance, and I really only did it to please you."
"Oh! Then I am afraid I haven't guessed right." Mordaunt's expression became one of grave doubt.
Chris laughed aloud. "You will have to guess again. No, please go on dancing. One only gets hotter standing still."
His tone was perfectly kind, as gentle as it always was when he addressed her, and yet the quick glance that she threw him was not without a hint of misgiving. The slender young body stiffened ever so slightly against his arm.
"I wonder if Bertie has found a partner," she said. "Do you think we ought to go and see?"
He guided her towards the entrance. A good many people were standing about, and one after another accosted Chris. She answered blithely enough, her hand still upon her _fiancé's_ arm, but yet there was that about her that made him aware that she was not wholly at her ease. When he drew her towards a room beyond that led to a conservatory, she hung back.