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marriedtoUncleBertram，aren’tyou？’
Icertainlyam，mydear，’smiledBilly，tryingtospeakunconcernedly。
Well，then，whatmakesyouforgetit？’
Whatmakesmeforget——Why，child，whataquestion!Whatdoyoumean？Idon’tforgetit!’exclaimedBilly，indignantly。
Thenwhat_did_mothermean？IheardhertellUncleWilliammyself——shedidn’tknowI
heard，though——thatshedidwishyou’drememberyouwereUncleBertram’swifeaswellasCousinBertram’smother。’
Billyflushedscarlet，thengrewverywhite。
AtthatmomentMrs。Hartwellcameintotheroom。LittleKateturnedtriumphantly。
There，shehasn’tforgotten，andIknewshehadn’t，mother!Iaskedherjustnow，andshesaidshehadn’t。’
Hadn’twhat？’questionedMrs。Hartwell，lookingalittleapprehensivelyathersister-in-
law’swhitefaceandangryeyes。
Hadn’tforgottenthatshewasUncleBertram’swife。’
Kate，’interposedBilly，steadilymeetinghersister-in-law’sgaze，willyoubegoodenoughtotellmewhatthischildistalkingabout？’
Mrs。Hartwellsighed，andgaveanimpatientgesture。
Kate，I’veamindtotakeyouhomeonthenexttrain，’shesaidtoherdaughter。Runaway，now，down-stairs。YourAuntBillyandI
wanttotalk。Come，come，hurry!ImeanwhatIsay，’sheaddedwarningly，asshesawunmistakablesignsofrebelliononthesmallyoungface。
Iwish，’poutedlittleKate，risingreluctantly，andmovingtowardthedoor，thatyoudidn’talwayssendmeawayjustwhenIwantedmosttostay!’
Well，Kate？’promptedBilly，asthedoorclosedbehindthelittlegirl。
Yes，IsupposeI’llhavetosayitnow，aslongasthatchildhasputherfingerinthepie。
ButIhadn’tintendedtospeak，nomatterwhatIsaw。IpromisedmyselfIwouldn’t，beforeI
came。Iknow，ofcourse，howBertramandCyril，andWilliam，too，saythatI’malwaysinterferinginaffairsthatdon’tconcernme——though，forthatmatter，ifmyownbrother’saffairsdon’tconcernme，Idon’tknowwhoseshould!
But，asIsaid，Iwasn’tgoingtospeakthistime，nomatterwhatIsaw。AndIhaven’t——
excepttoWilliam，andCyril，andAuntHannah；
butIsupposesomewherelittleKategotholdofit。It’ssimplythis，Billy。Itseemstomeit’shightimeyoubegantorealizethatyou’reBertram’swifeaswellasthebaby’smother。’
That，Iam——Idon’tthinkIquiteunderstand，’
saidBilly，unsteadily。
No，Isupposeyoudon’t，’sighedKate，thoughwhereyoureyesare，Idon’tsee——or，rather，Idosee：they’reonthebaby，_always_。
It’sallverywellandlovely，Billy，tobeadevotedmother，andyoucertainlyarethat。I’llsaythatmuchforyou，andI’lladmitIneverthoughtyouwouldbe。But_can’t_youseewhatyou’redoingtoBertram？’
_DoingtoBertram!_——bybeingadevotedmothertohisson!’
Yes，doingtoBertram。Can’tyouseewhatachangethereisintheboy？Hedoesn’tactlikehimselfatall。He’srestlessandgloomyandentirelyoutofsorts。’
Yes，Iknow；butthat’shisarm，’pleadedBilly。Poorboy——he’ssotiredofit!’
Kateshookherheaddecisively。
It’smorethanhisarm，Billy。You’dseeityourselfifyouweren’tblindedbyyourabsorptioninthatbaby。WhereisBertrameveryevening？Whereishedaytimes？Doyourealizethathe’sbeenathomescarcelyoneeveningsinceIcame？Andasforthedays——he’salmostneverhere。’
But，Kate，hecan’tpaintnow，youknow，soofcoursehedoesn’tneedtostaysocloselyathome，’defendedBilly。Hegoesouttofinddistractionfromhimself。’
Yes，`distraction，’indeed，’sniffedKate。
Andwheredoyousupposehefindsit？Doyou_know_wherehefindsit？Itellyou，Billy，BertramHenshawisnotthesortofmanthatshouldfindtoomuch`distraction’outsidehishome。HistastesandhistemperamentarealtogethertooBohemian，and——’
Billyinterruptedwithaperemptorilyupraisedhand。
Pleaseremember，Kate，youarespeakingofmyhusbandtohiswife；andhiswifehasperfectconfidenceinhim，andisjusta
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