larmed,' said he: 'what I wish to say is nothing in itself;
and I will leave you to draw your own inferences from it. You say that
Annabella is not yet returned?'

'Yes, yes--go on!' said I, impatiently; for I feared my forced calmness
would leave me before the end of his disclosure, whatever it might be.

'And you hear,' continued he, 'that Huntingdon is gone out with Grimsby?'

'Well?'

'I heard the latter say to your husband--or the man who calls himself
so--'

'Go on, sir!'

He bowed submissively, and continued: 'I heard him say,--"I shall manage
it, you'll see! They're gone down by the water; I shall meet them there,
and tell him I want a bit of talk with him about some things that we
needn't trouble the lady with; and she'll say she can be walking back to
the house; and then I shall apologise, you know, and all that, and tip
her a wink to take the way of the shrubbery. I'll keep him talking
there, about those matters I mentioned, and anything else I can think of,
as long as I can, and then bring him round the other way, stopping to
look at the trees, the fields, and anything else I can find to discourse
of."' Mr. Hargrave paused, and looked at me.

Without a word of comment or further questioning, I rose, and darted from
the room and out of the house. The torment of suspense was not to be
endured: I would not suspect my husband falsely, on this man's
accusation, and I would not trust him unworthily--I must know the truth
at once. I flew to the shrubbery. Scarcely had I reached it, when a
sound of voices arrested my breathless speed.

'We have lingered too long; he will be back,' said Lady Lowborough's
voice.

'Surely not, dearest!' was his reply; 'but you can run across the lawn,
and get in as quietly as you can; I'll follow in a while.'

My knees trembled under me; my brain swam round. I was ready to faint.
She must not see me thus. I shrunk among the bushes, and leant against
the trunk of a tree to let her pass.

'Ah, Huntingdon!' said she reproachfully, pausing where I had stood with
him the night before--'it was here you kissed that woman!' she looked
back into the leafy shade. Advancing thence, he answered, with a
careless laugh,--

'Well, dearest, I couldn't help it. You know I must keep straight with
her as long as I can. Haven't I seen you kiss your dolt of a husband
scores of times?--and do I ever complain?'

'But tell me, don't you love her still--a little?' said she, placing