But the tension between them did not relax; rather, in those few days which followed Christmas, they came nearer to quarreling than ever before. The paying in of Julia's check raised the money question again. Ronnie wanted Aliette to use it immediately, to buy herself some clothes, to take a holiday. Aliette demurred.

"We can't stay here forever," she protested, eying the scratched wall-paper of their bedroom.

"I know, darling. But a boarding-house has its advantages. If we were to take a flat, who'd do the housework?"

"Caroline and I could manage that easily between us."

"I'd hate to see you doing housework."

"I might be some use scrubbing floors. I'm none at the moment."

"You are."

"I'm not. I'm only a drag on you."

So the game went on--the fact of their not being legally married and the sense of isolated responsibility which each felt for the other's happiness, making mountains out of every molehill.

CHAPTER XXI