“Kiss your father,” Ellen ordered, twisting the arm of her offspring.  “Kiss him at once, then, and stop whimpering.”

The salute, which seemed to afford no one any particular satisfaction, was carried out in perfunctory fashion.  Burton, secretly wiping his lips—­he hated peppermint—­turned towards Piccadilly.

“We will have some tea,” he suggested,—­“Lyons’, if you like.  There is music there.  I am glad that you are both well.”

“Considering,” Ellen declared, “that you haven’t set eyes on us for Lord knows how long—­well, you need to be glad.  Upon my word!”

She was regarding her husband in a puzzled manner.  Burton was quietly but well dressed.  His apparel was not such as Ellen would have thought of choosing for him, but in a dim sort of way she recognized its qualities.  She recognized, too, something new about him which, although she vigorously rebelled against it, still impressed her with a sense of superiority.

“Alfred Burton,” she continued, impressively, “for the dear land’s sake, what’s come over you?  Mrs. Johnson was around last week and told me you’d lost your job at Waddington’s months ago.  And here you are, all in new clothes, and not a word about coming back or anything.  Am I your wife or not?  What do you mean by it?  Have you gone off your head, or what have we done—­me and little Alfred?”

“We will talk at tea-time,” Burton said, uneasily.

Ellen set her lips grimly and the little party hastened on.  Burton ordered an extravagant tea, in which Ellen declined to take the slightest interest.  Alfred alone ate stolidly and with every appearance of complete satisfaction.  Burton had chosen a place as near the band as possible, with a view to rendering conversation more or less difficult.  Ellen, however, had a voice which was superior to bands.  Alfred, with his mouth continually filled with bun, appeared fascinated by the cornet player, from whom he seldom removed his eyes.

“What I want to know, Alfred Burton, is first how long this tomfoolery is to last, and secondly what it all means?” Ellen began, with her elbows upon the table and a reckless disregard of neighbors.  “Haven’t we lived for ten years, husband and wife, at Clematis Villa, and you as happy and satisfied with his home as a man could be?  And now, all of a sudden, comes this piece of business.  Have you gone off your head?  Here are all the neighbors just wild with curiosity, and I knowing no more what to say to them than the man in the moon.”

“Is there any necessity to say anything to them?” Burton asked, a little vaguely.

Ellen shook in her chair.  A sham tortoise-shell hairpin dropped from her untidy hair on to the floor with a little clatter.  Her veil parted at the top from her hat.  Little Alfred, terrified by an angry frown from the cornet player, was hastily returning fragments of partially consumed bun to his plate.  The air of the place was hot and uncomfortable.  Burton for a moment half closed his eyes.  His whole being was in passionate revolt.