see whether any
soul objected. Her favorite word was "May I?" with a stress on the
"May," and she used it where most girls would say "I will," or nothing,
and do it.

Mr. Richard Bassett was in love with her, and also conscious that her
fifteen thousand pounds would be a fine addition to his present income,
which was small, though his distant expectations were great. As he had
known her but one month, and she seemed rather amiable than
inflammable, he had the prudence to proceed by degrees; and that is
why, though his eyes gloated on her, he merely regaled her with the
gossip of the day, not worth recording here. But when he had actually
taken his hat to go, Bella Bruce put him a question that had been on
her mind the whole time, for which reason she had reserved it to the
very last moment.

"Is Sir Charles Bassett in town?" said she, mighty carelessly, but
bending a little lower over her embroidery.

"Don't know," said Richard Bassett, with such a sudden brevity and
asperity that Miss Bruce looked up and opened her lovely eyes. Mr.
Richard Bassett replied to this mute inquiry, "We don't speak." Then,
after a pause, "He has robbed me of my inheritance."

"Oh, Mr. Bassett!"

"Yes, Miss Bruce, the Bassett and Huntercombe estates were mine by
right of birth. My father was the eldest son, and they were entailed on
him. But Sir Charles's father persuaded my old, doting grandfather to
cut off the entail, and settle the estates on him and his heirs; and so
they robbed me of every acre they could. Luckily my little estate of
Highmore was settled on my mother and her issue too tight for the
villains to undo."

These harsh expressions, applied to his own kin, and the abruptness and
heat they were uttered with, surprised and repelled his gentle
listener. She shrank a little away from him. He observed it. She
replied not to his words, but to her own thought:

"But, after all, it does seem hard." She added, with a little fervor,
"But it wasn't poor Sir Charles's doing, after all."

"He is content to reap the benefit," said Richard Bassett, sternly.

Then, finding he was making a sorry impression, he tried to get away
from the subject. I say tried, for till a man can double like a hare he
will never get away from his hobby. "Excuse me," said he; "I ought
never to speak about it. Let us talk of something else. You cannot
enter into my feelings; it makes my blood boil. Oh, Miss Bruce! you
can't conceive what a disinherited