Sheilah had planned to leave Avidon's on a Thursday. It was Tuesday now, just before dinner. Sheilah did most of her meditating at Avidon's just before dinner, during the prescribed half-hour of rest, and later as she dressed with luxurious leisure. She was glad that this was not her last night at Avidon's. The Outsiders were giving her a dinner party in the grill, on her last night, and she rather dreaded it. There would be sure to be au revoirs, see—you-agains, and possibly exchanges of addresses, which so far she had successfully avoided. As the hour for her departure drew nearer, Sheilah very much hoped that she would be able to speed back to her hearth and cinders without leaving anything behind to trace her.
Sheilah was wearing her black dress to-night. Roger was taking her out after dinner to show her the moonlight on a beautiful little lake he had discovered in the woods. Roger was always discovering beautiful spots around Avidon's, and showing them to her, or to any appreciative audience, for that matter, she shrugged. But he had never taken her anywhere alone with him in the evening.
Roger had been very careful not to compromise
