me and Christie so nervous that we will not dare to
open the door to a visitor, until he declares his innocence of any
matrimonial intentions. You don't want to give color to the gossip that
agreement with your views about the improvements is necessary to getting
on with us."

"Who dares talk such rubbish?" said Carr, reddening; "is that the kind
of gossip that Fairfax brings here?"

"Hardly, when it's known that he don't quite agree with you, and DOES
come here. That's the best denial of the gossip."

Christie, who had of late loftily ignored these discussions, waited
until her father had taken his departure.

"Then that is the reason why you still see Mr. Munroe, after what you
said," she remarked quietly to Jessie.

Jessie, who would have liked to escape with her father, was obliged to
pause on the threshold of the door, with a pretty assumption of blank
forgetfulness in her blue eyes and lifted eyebrows.

"Said what? when?" she asked vacantly.

"When--when Mr. Kearney that day--in the woods--went away," said
Christie, faintly coloring.

"Oh! THAT day," said Jessie briskly; "the day he just gloved your
hand with kisses, and then fled wildly into the forest to conceal his
emotion."

"The day he behaved very foolishly," said Christie, with reproachful
calmness, that did not, however, prevent a suspicion of indignant
moisture in her eyes--"when you explained"--

"That it wasn't meant for ME," interrupted Jessie.

"That it was to you that MR. MUNROE'S attentions were directed. And then
we agreed that it was better to prevent any further advances of this
kind by avoiding any familiar relations with either of them."

"Yes," said Jessie, "I remember; but you're not confounding my seeing
Fairfax occasionally now with that sort of thing. HE doesn't kiss my
hand like anything," she added, as if in abstract reflection.

"Nor run away, either," suggested the trodden worm, turning.

There was an ominous silence.

"Do you know we are nearly out of coffee?" said Jessie choking, but
moving towards the door with Spartan-like calmness.

"Yes. And something must be done this very day about the washing," said
Christie, with suppressed emotion, going towards the opposite entrance.

Tears stood in each other's eyes with this terrible exchange of domestic
confidences. Nevertheless, after a moment's pause, they deliberately
turned again, and, facing each other with frightful calmness, left
the room by purposeless and d