He had the
grace, however, to add, half sullenly, "Excuse me; I feel I have been
too vehement."

Miss Bruce, thus repelled, answered, rather coldly:

"Oh, never mind _that;_ it was very natural.--I am at home, then," said
she to the servant.

Mr. Bassett took the hint, but turned at the door, and said, with no
little agitation, "I was not aware he visits you. One word--don't let
his ill-gotten acres make you quite forget the disinherited one." And
so he left her, with an imploring look.

She felt red with all this, so she slipped out at another door, to cool
her cheeks and imprison a stray curl for Sir Charles.

He strolled into the empty room, with the easy, languid air of fashion.
His features were well cut, and had some nobility; but his sickly
complexion and the lines under his eyes told a tale of dissipation. He
appeared ten years older than he was, and thoroughly _blase._

Yet when Miss Bruce entered the room with a smile and a little blush,
he brightened up and looked handsome, and greeted her with momentary
warmth.

After the usual inquiries she asked him if he had met any body.

"Where?"

"Here; just now."

"No."

"What, nobody at all?"

"Only my sulky cousin; I don't call him anybody," drawled Sir Charles,
who was now relapsing into his normal condition of semi-apathy.

"Oh," said Miss Bruce gayly, "you must expect him to be a little cross.
It is not so very nice to be disinherited, let me tell you."

"And who has disinherited the fellow?"

"I forget; but you disinherited him among you. Never mind; it can't be
helped now. When did you come back to town? I didn't see you at Lady
d'Arcy's ball, did I?"

"You did not, unfortunately for me; but you would if I had known you
were to be there. But about Richard: he may tell you what he likes, but
he was not disinherited; he was bought out. The fact is, his father was
uncommonly fast. My grandfather paid his debts again and again; but at
last the old gentleman found he was dealing with the Jews for his
reversion. Then there was an awful row. It ended in my grandfather
outbidding the Jews. He bought the reversion of his estate from his own
son for a large sum of money (he had to raise it by mortgages); then
they cut off the entail between them, and he entailed the mortgaged
estate on his other son, and his grandson (that was me), and on my
heir-at-law. Richard's father squandered his thirty thousand pounds
before he died; my father husbanded the