A
certain mysterious story of an unfaithful wife put an air of romance
about him that Tennelly had not liked. Gila had never seen him so
serious and hard to coax as he had been to-night. He had spoken to her
as if she were a naughty child; had commanded her to go at once to her
aunt in Beechwood and remain there the allotted time. She simply _had_
to obey or lose him. There were things about Tennelly's fortune and
prospects that made him most desirable as a husband. Moreover, she felt
that through marrying Tennelly she could the better hurt Courtland, the
man whom she now hated with all her heart.
They reached Beechwood at not too unearthly an hour. The aunt was
surprised, but not unduly so, for Gila was a girl of many whims, and
that she came at all to quiet Beechwood to rest was shock enough for one
day. She asked no troublesome questions.
Tennelly would not remain for breakfast, even, but started on the return
trip at once, with only a brief stop at a wayside inn for something to
eat. The elderly attendant in the back seat was disappointed. She had
no chance to get a bit of gossip by the way with any one, but she got
good pay for the night's ride, and made up some thrilling stories to
tell when she got back that were really better than the truth might have
turned out to be, so there was nothing lost, after all.
It was Tennelly who broke the silence between them when he and Courtland
were at last alone together.
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