he had known!'"

"He was quite an old man, I suppose?" said Mrs. Vane. "There was no talk
of marriage between them--of an attachment of any kind?"

Mrs. Wadsley drew herself up in rather an offended manner.

"Certainly not, madam--save as father and daughter might be attached one
to another. Mr. Lalli was old enough to be the girl's grandfather; and
Cynthia--oh, she was quite a child! I hope you do not think that I
should have chaperoned her if any such matter had seemed likely to
occur; but there was nothing of the kind. Mr. Lalli was quite too
serious-minded for anything of that sort--a deeply religious man,
although an Italian, Mrs. Vane."

"Indeed, I am glad to hear it," said Flossy solemnly. "Miss West had no
engagement--no love-affair, in short--going on when she was with you?"

"Certainly not, Mrs. Vane."

"Did you ever hear her say where she had lived--where she had been
educated--before she came to London?"

"I did hear something of a school that she had been at," said Mrs.
Wadsley, after a little reflection; "but where it was I could not
exactly tell you. They were Sisters, I believe, who taught her--Roman
Catholics, very probably. 'St. Elizabeth's'--that was the name of the
school; but where it is to be found I am sure I cannot say."

"At St. Elizabeth's, East Winstead?" said Mrs. Vane quickly. She had
heard the name from the Rumbolds.

"I am sure I cannot say, Mrs. Vane."

"Miss West was not a Roman Catholic, was she?"

"Not to my knowledge," said Mrs. Wadsley with great stiffness.

Flossy's questions had not impressed her favorably; but the words next
uttered by her visitor did away to some extent with the bad impression.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Wadsley, for your kind information! The fact is
that a relative of mine his fallen in love with Miss West, and I was
asked to find out who she was and all about her. Everything I have heard
is so entirely charming and satisfactory, that I shall be able to set
everything right, and assure my friends that we shall be honored by an
alliance with Miss West. I hope we shall see you at the wedding, Mrs.
Wadsley, when it takes place."

"When it takes place," Flossy repeated to herself, when she stood once
more in the noisy London street; "but I do not think it will ever take
place. I wonder how far it is to East Winstead; and whether it is worth
while going there or not?"

CHAPTER XXXVI.

It was not much after five, and the days were very long.