And, knowing that he had already telegraphed the announcement that the marriage arranged between the Right Honorable John Derringham and Mrs. Vincent Cricklander would not take place, so that it should appear in the Monday morning papers—­Mr. Hanbury-Green felt he could safely comply with her caprice and bide his time.  He had not the slightest intention of ever permitting a whim of hers to interfere with his real wishes in any way, and having a full command of her own weapons and methods, he looked forward to a time of uninterrupted bliss when once she should be his wife.  To dissemble for a month or so would not hurt him, and might even amuse him as a new game.

So they entered Daniellis in subdued triumph, and said good night before Arabella, with prim decorum, and then Cecilia mounted to make herself look beautiful for the flinging of his conge in John Derringham’s face.

CHAPTER XXXIII

When Halcyone left the Fortezza she was conscious of no feeling of depression or grief.  Rather a gladness and security filled her heart.  She had seen him with her mortal eyes—­her dear lover—­and he was in truth greatly in need of all her care and tender thoughts.  Her beliefs were so intense in those forces of protection with which that God Whom she worshiped so truly surrounded her, that she never for a moment doubted but these invisible currents would be directed to the disentangling of destiny’s threads.

She made no speculations as to how this would be—­God would find the way.  Her attitude was never one of pious resignation to a divine chastisement.  She did not believe God ever meant to chastise anyone.  For good or ill each circumstance was brought about by the individual’s own action in setting the sequence of events in motion, as the planting of seed in the early spring produced fair flowers in the summer—­or the bruising of a limb produced pain.  And the motion must go on until the price had been paid or the pleasure obtained.  And, when long ago she had heard Cheiron and John Derringham having abstruse arguments upon Chance, she used silently to wonder how they could be so dull as not to understand there was no such thing really as Chance—­if people were only enabled to see clearly enough.  If they could only trace events in their lives to their sources, they would find that they themselves had long ago—­even perhaps in some former existence—­put in motion the currents to draw the events to themselves.  What could be called “chance” in the matter was only another name for ignorance.

And, if people knew about these wonderful forces of nature, they could connect themselves with only the good ones, and protect themselves from the bad.  Misfortune came through—­figuratively—­not knowing just where to put the feet, and through not looking ahead to see what would be the result of actions.