his correspondence
with Rome. It had become a habit of his life to be suspicious of any
circumstances occurring within his range of observation, for which he
was unable to account. He might have felt some stronger emotion on this
occasion, if he had known that the conspiracy in the library to convert
Romayne was matched by the conspiracy in the picture gallery to marry
him.

Lady Loring's narrative of the conversation which had taken place
between Stella and herself had encouraged her husband to try his
proposed experiment without delay. "I shall send a letter at once to
Romayne's hotel," he said.

"Inviting him to come here to-day?" her ladyship inquired.

"Yes. I shall say I particularly wish to consult him about a picture.
Are we to prepare Stella to see him? or would it be better to let the
meeting take her by surprise?"

"Certainly not!" said Lady Loring. "With her sensitive disposition, I am
afraid of taking Stella by surprise. Let me only tell her that Romayne
is the original of her portrait, and that he is likely to call on you to
see the picture to-day--and leave the rest to me."

Lady Loring's suggestion was immediately carried out. In the first
fervor of her agitation, Stella had declared that her courage was not
equal to a meeting with Romayne on that day. Becoming more composed, she
yielded to Lady Loring's persuasion so far as to promise that she would
at least make the attempt to follow her friend to the gallery. "If I go
down with you," she said, "it will look as if we had arranged the
thing between us. I can't bear even to think of that. Let me look in by
myself, as if it was by accident." Consenting to this arrangement, Lady
Loring had proceeded alone to the gallery, when Romayne's visit was
announced. The minutes passed, and Stella did not appear. It was quite
possible that she might shrink from openly presenting herself at the
main entrance to the gallery, and might prefer--especially if she was
not aware of the priest's presence in the room--to slip in quietly by
the library door. Failing to find her, on putting this idea to the test,
Lord Loring had discovered Penrose, and had so hastened the introduction
of the younger of the two Jesuits to Romayne.

Having gathered his papers together, Father Benwell crossed the
library to the deep bow-window which lighted the room, and opened his
dispatch-box, standing on a small table in the recess. Placed in this
position, he was invisible to any p