Later came violets from Dick which she put in a vase on her desk beside Uncle Phil’s picture.  But it was the fragrance and color of Alan’s roses that filled the room, and presently she sat down and wrote her ill-behaved lover a sweet, forgiving little note.  She was sorry if she had been unkind.  She had not meant to be.  As for what happened it was too late to worry about it now.  They had best forget it, if they could.  He couldn’t very well apologize to Dick in person because he was already on his way to Mexico.  There was no need of any penance.  Of course she forgave him, knew he had not meant to hurt her, though he had horribly.  If he cared to do so he might take her to dinner tomorrow night—­somewhere where they could dance.  And in conclusion she was always his, Tony Holiday.

Both Dick and Alan were driven out of her mind later that day by the delightful and exciting interview over the tea table with Carol Clay.  Miss Clay was a charming hostess, drew the girl out without appearing to do so, got her to talk naturally about many things, her life with her father at army barracks, and with her uncle on her beloved Hill, of her friends and brothers, her college life, of books and plays.  Plays took them to the Killarney Rose and once more Miss Clay expressed her pleasure in the girl’s rendering of one of her own favorite roles.

“You acted as if you had been playing Rose all your life,” she added with a smile.

“Maybe I have,” said Tony.  “Rose is—­a good deal like me.  Maybe that is why I loved playing her so.”

“I shouldn’t wonder.  You are a real little actress, my dear.  I wonder if you are ready to pay the price of it.  It is bitterly hard work and it means giving up half the things women care for.”

The speaker’s lovely eyes shadowed a little.  Tony wondered what Carol Clay had given up, was giving up for her art to bring that look into them.

“I am not afraid.  I am willing to work.  I love it.  And I—­I am willing to give up a good deal.”

“Lovers?” smiled Miss Clay.

“Must I?  I thought actresses always had lovers, at least worshipers.  Can’t I keep the lovers, Miss Clay?” There was a flash of mischief in Tony’s eyes as she asked the important question.

“Better stick to worshipers.  Lovers are risky.  Husbands—­fatal.”

Tony laughed outright at that.

“I am willing to postpone the fatality,” she murmured.

“I am glad to hear it for I lured you here to take you into a deep-laid plot.  I suppose you did not suspect that it was Max Hempel who sent me to see you play Rose?”

“Mr. Hempel?  I thought he had forgotten me.”

“He never forgets any one in whom he is interested.  He has had his eye on you ever since he saw you play Rosalind.  He told me when he came back from that trip that I had a rival coming on.”

“Oh, no!” Tony objected even in jest to such desecration.