A little later she heard the banging of the surgery-door and the sound of his feet on the gravel.

They passed under her window.

They paused.
"Olga," he called up to her, "do you mind if a pal of mine comes to lunch ?" Her heart gave a great jolt at the sound of his voice.

She swallowed twice before she found her own.
"Who is it ?" she called then.
"Someone very nice," he assured her, and she caught a laugh in the words.

"Someone you'll like." "Anyone I know ?" she asked.
"No." She heard him strike a match to light a cigarette.