When Miss Charteris read the letter she knew
that all effort to restore peace would for a time be in vain.
She heard the day following that the clever young artist, Mr.
Earle, had left.
Countess Rosali loudly lamented Ronald's departure. It was so
strange, she said; the dark-eyed little wife and her children had
gone home to England, and the husband, after selling off his
home, had gone with Mr. Charles Standon into the interior of
Africa. What was he going to do there?
She lamented him for two days without ceasing, until Valentine
was tired of her many conjectures. He was missed in the
brilliant salons of Florence, but by none so much as by Valentine
Charteris.
What the pretty, coquettish countess had said was true. After
making many plans and forming many resolutions, Ronald met Mr.
Standon, who was on the point of joining an exploring expedition
in South Africa. He gladly consented to accompany him. There
was but little preparation needed. Four days after the never-to-
be-forgotten garden scene, Ronald Earle left Italy and became a
wanderer upon the face of the earth.
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