"Just as things were at their worst and I was getting quite desperate, I
met at a dance a man named Archie Jolliffe. He had been a sailor, but
having come into money had given up the Service and settled down to enjoy
himself. He and I got on very well together from the first; he was a
breezy, genial, young fellow, fond of fun and adventure and a pleasant
contrast in every way to the man who was threatening to ruin my life. I
don't know that in happier circumstances I should have cared for
Jolliffe; there wasn't much in him beyond his capacity for fun; he was
inclined to be fast in a foolish sort of way; a man's man rather than one
for whom a woman could feel much respect. Still he was not vicious like
the other, for whom my dislike increased every time I saw him.
"Well, Archie Jolliffe fell in love with me and in his impetuous way made
no secret of it. I need not say it did not take long for my step-mother
to become aware of it, and with the idea that I was encouraging him she
became furious. Except that poor Archie was a welcome change from the
atmosphere of my home and the hateful attentions of the man who was
always being left alone with me, I did not really care for him, and but
for Mrs.
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