They walked more rapidly up the avenue, and the barrister noted the
graceful ease of Margaret's movements.
"Is it a fact" he asked, "that you suffer from heart disease?"
She laughed, and said, with a certain charming hesitation:
"You are both doctor and lawyer, Mr. Brett. My heart is quite sound. I
have been foolish enough to seek relief from my troubles in morphia. Do
not be alarmed. I am not a morphinee. I promised Nellie yesterday to stop
it, and I am quite certain to succeed."
The dinner passed uneventfully.
As Brett was unable to change his clothes, neither of the ladies, of
course, appeared in elaborate costumes.
Helen wore a simple white muslin dress, with pale blue ribbons. Margaret,
mindful of the barrister's hint concerning her attire, now appeared in
pale grey crepe de chine, trimmed with cerise panne velvet.
When she entered the drawing-room she almost startled the others, so
strong was the contrast between her present effective garments and the
black raiment she had affected constantly since her return to Beechcroft
after her marriage.
"The reform has commenced," she cried gaily, seeing how they looked at
her. "My maid is in ecstasies about the proposed visit to my dressmaker's.
She insisted on showing me a study for an Ascot frock in the _Queen_."
"Ah, she is a Frenchwoman?" said Brett.
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