At the door he was met by the Countess.  She came into the room without a word or a kiss, and when she did speak, the total absence of any euphuism gave token of repressed excitement yet more than her angry eyes and eager step.  Evan had grown accustomed to her moods, and if one moment she was the halcyon, and another the petrel, it no longer disturbed him, seeing that he was a stranger to the influences by which she was affected.  The Countess rated him severely for not seeking repose and inviting sympathy.  She told him that the Jocelyns had one and all combined in an infamous plot to destroy the race of Harrington, and that Caroline had already succumbed to their assaults; that the Jocelyns would repent it, and sooner than they thought for; and that the only friend the Harringtons had in the house was Miss Bonner, whom Providence would liberally reward.

Then the Countess changed to a dramatic posture, and whispered aloud, ’Hush:  she is here.  She is so anxious.  Be generous, my brother, and let her see you!’

‘She?’ said Evan, faintly.  ‘May she come, Louisa?’ He hoped for Rose.

‘I have consented to mask it,’ returned the Countess.  ’Oh, what do I not sacrifice for you!’

She turned from him, and to Evan’s chagrin introduced Juliana Bonner.

‘Five minutes, remember!’ said the Countess.  ‘I must not hear of more.’  And then Evan found himself alone with Miss Bonner, and very uneasy.  This young lady had restless brilliant eyes, and a contraction about the forehead which gave one the idea of a creature suffering perpetual headache.  She said nothing, and when their eyes met she dropped hers in a manner that made silence too expressive.  Feeling which, Evan began: 

’May I tell you that I think it is I who ought to be nursing you, not you me?’

Miss Bonner replied by lifting her eyes and dropping them as before, murmuring subsequently, ‘Would you do so?’

‘Most certainly, if you did me the honour to select me.’

The fingers of the young lady commenced twisting and intertwining on her lap.  Suddenly she laughed: 

’It would not do at all.  You won’t be dismissed from your present service till you ‘re unfit for any other.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Evan, thinking more of the unmusical laugh than of the words.

He received no explanation, and the irksome silence caused him to look through the window, as an escape for his mind, at least.  The waters streamed on endlessly into the golden arms awaiting them.  The low moon burnt through the foliage.  In the distance, over a reach of the flood, one tall aspen shook against the lighted sky.

‘Are you in pain?’ Miss Bonner asked, and broke his reverie.

‘No; I am going away, and perhaps I sigh involuntarily.’

‘You like these grounds?’

‘I have never been so happy in any place.’

‘With those cruel young men about you?’