Constance had been wondering how she could inform Tony that his aunt and sister had arrived, without unbending from the dignified silence of the past three days.

The obvious method was to announce it to her father in Tony's presence, but her father slipped into the house by the back way without affording her an opportunity.

It was Tony himself who solved the difficulty.

Of his own accord he crossed the terrace and approached her side.

He laid a bunch of edelweiss on the balustrade.
'It's a peace offering,' he observed.
She looked at him a moment without speaking.