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a peculiar expression in his gray eyes, but he concealed it almost immediately and said warmly, “Delighted to hear it, Andrea. I’ve never met Templar, but Jill says he’s a very good fellow. When’s the great day?”
    “I don’t know yet. We haven’t had time t o discuss our plans.”
    “But when did he propose?” Jill asked, looking slightly puzzled. “I thought you hadn’t seen him since Monday.”
    It occurred to Andrea that the truth might sound odd, so she told a white lie, and said Justin had left just before they came in.
    “I am so glad. When one’s happy oneself, one wants everyone else to be,” Jill said, squeezing Nick’s hand and giving him an adoring look. “Perhaps you’ll be married before us. I mean, Justin has a house already. You won’t have to slog around looking for somewhere to live.”
    “I shouldn’t think you’ll have to slog over anything,” Nick said dryly.
    “No, of course not. Imagine, you’ll be able to buy your clothes in Paris and have a maid to wash out your undies and no bother about meals. Has he given you a ring yet?” Jill asked.
    “We’re going to choose one tomorrow,” Andrea said, embarrassed by Jill’s enthusiasm. For the first time she realized that it was going to be difficult to hide the truth from the younger girl, but somehow she would have to do it. Jill was a wholehearted romantic and would be appalled at the thought of marrying for anything less than love.
    Watching Nick, who was lighting his pipe, Andrea wondered if he suspected that her engagement was very different from his own. If he did, would he tell Jill?
    “This is going to make quite a story. The Mirror will probably come out with a banner headline ‘Model to Wed Steel Magnate,’ ” he said.
    “But it isn’t public yet,” she said anxiously .
    “Don’t worry, I won’t give it away. No doubt Templar will put a notice in the Times tomorrow. But once it’s out, you’ll probably be inundated with photographers and columnists.”
    Andrea bit her lip. If the newspapers decided to publicize the engagement, they might uproot the facts of her past. She could imagine how much more colorful the story would be then. All the old cliché s about Cinderella marrying Prince Charming and the girl from the wrong side of the tracks breaking into society would be splashed over the front page of the popular papers. They might even print a picture of the Briggs Lane basement and one of the house in Syon Place.
    For a moment she was tempted to phone Justin and ask if they could keep their engagement a secret, but then she realized that the news would be bound to leak out eventually and they could scarcely conceal their marriage. There was nothing to do but hope that some more important event would overshadow the engagement.
    She was a little late for their luncheon appointment the next day, and apologized so concernedly that Justin was amused.
    “If you never keep me waiting longer than five minutes, I will be an unusually fortunate man,” he said smiling.
    When they had been shown to a table overlooking the Thames, and he had ordered the food and wines, Andrea found herself stricken with shyness. She could think of nothing to say and her replies to his remarks became more and more stilted.
    “Does your soup taste unpleasant?” he asked, seeing her taut face.
    “No, of course not. It’s delicious.” She colored slightly. “It’s just that I’m not quite used to this yet.”
    “By ‘this,’ do you mean being my future wife?” he inquired a shade quizzically.
    “Yes.”
    “Does that mean you want a long engagement to accustom yourself to the idea? Personally I can see no point in prolonged engagements once one has made up one’s mind to marry. But if there are any lingering doubts in your mind ...”
    He left the sentence unfinished, watching her with a rather hard expression.
    “Oh, no, I didn’t mean that,” she said hurriedly.
    “You’re quite sure?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then I