A FATAL KINDNESS Joan picked up her cloak and arranged it upon her shoulders.

She did not give one thought to Stella, or even hear the words which Stella began nervously to speak.

Her secret appointment would come to light now in any case.

It would very likely cost her--oh, all the gold and glamour of the world.

It would be bandied about in gossip over the tea-tables, in the street, at the Clubs, in the Press.