This was an especial treat not on the programme, and all that was needed in Mary's opinion to complete a heavenly evening.

He played the same improvisation that had caught her up in its magic spell the day of her arrival, and she went to her room in the uplifted frame of mind which finds everything perfection.

Even her strained relations with Ethelinda seemed a trifle, the tiniest thorn in a world full of roses.

Her last waking thought was a resolution to be so good and patient that even that thorn should disappear in time.
Mary's popularity was not without its effect upon Ethelinda, especially the Lady Evelyn's evident interest in her.

It argued that she was worth knowing.