A Pair of Blue Eyes

Her fall upon the roof was necessarily explained to some extent upon their entering the house; but both forbore to mention a word of what she had been doing to cause such an accident. During the remainder of the afternoon Elfride was invisible; but at dinner-time she appeared as bright as ever.

In the drawing-room, after having been exclusively engaged with Mr. and Mrs. Swancourt through the intervening hour, Knight again found himself thrown with Elfride. She had been looking over a chess problem in one of the illustrated periodicals.

“You like chess, Miss Swancourt?”

“Yes. It is my favourite scientific game; indeed, excludes every other. Do you play?”

“I have played; though not lately.”

“Challenge him, Elfride,” said the vicar heartily. “She plays very well for a lady, Mr. Knight.”

“Shall we play?” asked Elfride tentatively.

“Oh, certainly. I shall be delighted.”

The game began. Mr. Swancourt had forgotten a similar performance with Stephen Smith the year before. Elfride had not; but she had begun to take for her maxim the undoubted truth that the necessity of continuing faithful to Stephen, without suspicion, dictated a fickle behaviour almost as imperatively as fickleness itself; a fact, however, which would give a startling advantage to the latter quality should it ever appear.

Knight, by one of those inexcusable oversights which will sometimes afflict the best of players, placed his rook in the arms of one of her pawns. It was her first advantage. She looked triumphant—even ruthless.

“By George! what was I thinking of?” said Knight quietly; and then dismissed all concern at his accident.

“Club laws we’ll have, won’t we, Mr. Knight?” said Elfride suasively.

“Oh yes, certainly,” said Mr. Knight, a thought, however, just occurring to his mind, that he had two or three times allowed her to replace a man on her religiously assuring him that such a move was an absolute blunder.

She immediately took up the unfortunate rook and the contest proceeded, Elfride having now rather the better of the game. Then he won the exchange, regained his position, and began to press her hard. Elfride grew flurried, and placed her queen on his remaining rook’s file.

“There—how stupid! Upon my word, I did not see your rook. Of course nobody but a fool would have put a queen there knowingly!”

She spoke excitedly, half expecting her antagonist to give her back the move.

“Nobody, of course,” said Knight serenely, and stretched out his hand towards his royal victim.

“It is not very pleasant to have it taken advantage of, then,” she said with some vexation.

“Club laws, I think you said?” returned Knight blandly, and mercilessly appropriating the queen.

She was on the brink of pouting, but was ashamed to show it; tears almost stood in her eyes. She had been trying so hard—so very hard—thinking and thinking till her brain was in a whirl; and it seemed so heartless of him to treat her so, after all.

“I think it is——” she began.