's an _attache_ at Rome; and he's bound to be one of the
richest commoners in England. Who are you, I'd like to know, miss, that
you dare to reject him?'

I stared at her, amazed. 'But, Lady Georgina,' I cried, 'you said you
wished to protect your nephew against bare-faced adventuresses who were
setting their caps at him.'

She fixed her eyes on me, half-angry, half-tremulous.

'Of course,' she answered, with withering scorn. 'But, _then_, I thought
you were trying to catch him. He tells me now you won't have him, and
you won't tell him where you are going. I call it sheer insolence. Where
do you hail from, girl, that you should refuse my nephew? A man that any
woman in England would be proud to marry! Forty thousand a year, and an
earl's grandson! That's what comes, I suppose, of going to Girton!'

I drew myself up. 'Lady Georgina,' I said, coldly, 'I cannot allow you
to use such language to me. I promised to accompany you to Germany for a
week; and I have kept my word. I like your nephew; I respect your
nephew; he has behaved like a gentleman. But I will _not_ marry him.
Your own conduct showed me in the plainest way that you did not judge
such a match desirable for him; and I have common sense enough to see
that you were quite right. I am a lady by birth and education; I am an
officer's daughter; but I am not what society calls "a good match" for
Mr. Tillington. He had better marry into a rich stockbroker's family.'

It was an unworthy taunt: the moment it escaped my lips I regretted it.

[Illustration: I WAS GOING TO OPPOSE YOU AND HAROLD.]

To my intense surprise, however, Lady Georgina flung herself on my bed,
and burst into tears. 'My dear,' she sobbed out, covering her face with
her hands, 'I thought you would be sure to set your cap at Harold; and
after I had seen you for twenty-four hours, I said to myself, "That's
just the sort of girl Harold ought to fall in love with." I felt sure he
would fall in love with you. I brought you here on purpose. I saw you
had all the qualities that would strike Harold's fancy. So I had made up
my mind for a delightful regulation family quarrel. I was going to
oppose you and Harold, tooth and nail; I was going to threaten that
Marmy would leave his money to Kynaston's eldest son; I was going to
kick up, oh, a dickens of a row about it! Then, of course, in the end,
we should all have been reconciled; we should have kissed and made
friends: for you're just the one girl in t