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 Cicely had returned from Europe. She had been in Wallbridge for nearly two years. She still acted as Sheilah's fairy godmother. But for Cicely, Roddie and Laetitia could not both be away at school at once. Cicely wrote to Sheilah regularly, every two weeks or so.

It appeared from her letters that she was seeing a great deal of Roger. He was running up to Wallbridge almost every week-end. Well, was not that as it should be? Roger had intended to marry Cicely once. He had told Sheilah about it. And Sheilah was well aware now that Cicely had always loved Roger. 'I ought to be glad he's going to see her,' Sheilah told herself over and over again. 'I want him to be happy, don't I? At least I ought to want him to be happy. And, anyway, it was I who suggested that he go and see Cicely. I must remember that.'

She opened Cicely's letter with straightened shoulders, steeling herself against the reference she feared. Cicely had bought a new horse, she read on the third page, and Roger (ah! here it was as usual) had been good enough to exercise him for her over the last week-end. They had had a glorious ride together. Did Sheilah remember the high hill just beyond the golf club? They had ridden to the top of that hill and had stopped their horses a moment beneath the pine trees that crowned it—and listened