"Shall I say so, now ?" "You're a dear," laughed Grace, rubbing her soft cheek against his.
"Only you will tease." Since the evening that Marian Barber had repudiated her sorority, none of the members had spoken to her.

She had studiously avoided going within speaking distance of them and had divided her time after school equally between Eleanor Savelli and Henry Hammond.
Eleanor had kept her word in reference to Edna Wright, and the two girls exchanged only the barest civilities whenever they chanced to meet.
Eleanor had, however, gained considerable popularity with a number of the senior class, and wielded a tremendous influence over them.

She had dropped her annoying tactics toward the teachers, and her conduct during the year had been irreproachable.
Anne Pierson's assertion that Eleanor would be better off away from Edna had proved true, and unconsciously the spoiled, temperamental girl was receiving great benefit from her High School associations.

She stood next to Anne Pierson in her classes, and her aptitude for study and brilliant recitations evoked the admiration of the entire class.
But despite these changes for the better, Eleanor still nursed her grudge against the Phi Sigma Tau, and held to her unrelenting resolve to be revenged upon them, individually or collectively, whenever the opportunity should arise.
In cautioning her friends the previous year against placing themselves in a position liable to put them at a disadvantage with Eleanor, Grace had unwittingly divined the former's intentions.
Now that Marian had strayed away from the Phi Sigma Tau and straight to their common enemy, Grace felt uneasy as to the result.
"I don't know what to think about Marian's sudden intimacy with Eleanor," she confided to Anne, one day at the beginning of the new term.
"So far nothing startling has happened," replied Anne.

"Really, Eleanor happened along at a good time for Marian." "Why did she ?" asked Grace quickly.
"Because I understand that she coached Marian in astronomy and just simply made her cut out Henry Hammond for her books.