etween two fires: longing on the one hand for
the time to come when he might discreetly ask Bridget to be his wife,
and fearing, on the other hand, the announcement of his good news!

It is true that the rose was not entirely free from thorns. In his
less cheerful moods he could not regard Mark Driver as other than a
possibly disturbing factor. Bridget made no secret of the frequency
and gratification of his former visits to Golfney Place, with the
result that Colonel Faversham wondered occasionally whether she looked
upon himself rather too paternally. He would then puff out his chest,
tug his moustache and make various other efforts to convince her that
he was still in the prime of life.

Nevertheless there hung persistently in the background the tragedy of
his years! He might upon occasion strike one as a comic figure, and of
course he saw no reason why he should not live to be a hundred. An
exceptional age, no doubt, but then he was an exceptional man, as
perhaps every man appears to himself. But Colonel Faversham was not
already without warnings which he would not admit for the world. In
his desire to convince himself that he was as robust as ever, he
continued to take the same amount of exercise as he had enjoyed twenty
years earlier. No one knew how weary the evenings found him, and,
besides, there was that increasing stiffness of his joints.

He was particularly eager that Bridget should create a favourable
impression on Lawrence, as indeed she could scarcely fail to do.
Carrissima, notwithstanding a lamentable sense of inhospitality, when
the evening arrived found it on the whole rather amusing. Her brother
entered the drawing-room at Grandison Square with his head higher in
the air than ever, while Phoebe looked as usual serenely pretty and
contented. There was Bridget Rosser with her beautiful shoulders bare,
with her piquant face, her glorious hair, obviously bent upon enjoyment.

Lawrence took her in to dinner, and Phoebe certainly thought that she
had deliberately set herself to captivate him. So did the colonel, but
Carrissima made a valiant effort to do her guest justice. It really
seemed too paltry to be critical because Mark admired her. In
Carrissima's opinion Bridget was not exerting herself to make a
favourable impression either on Lawrence or his father. No such effort
was necessary! Nature had anticipated any endeavours of her own. With
her face and figure it must be positively