, for my happiness will not be complete without the presence
of my dear father's dearest friend--of her who was to have been
his bride."

This loving and confiding letter was never answered or even acknowledged
by Mrs. Grey. It was entirely ignored, its contents were never mentioned
to any one, and itself was torn to fragments and burned to ashes.

Two more letters of precisely the same character were written to her by
Miss Cavendish; but they suffered the same fate at the hands of Mrs.
Grey.

She had a deep motive in ignoring and destroying those letters. She did
not wish the world ever by any accident to find out that she had been
informed of the approaching marriage of Alden Lytton and Emma Cavendish
before it had taken place, or in time to prevent it.

Two weeks passed, and then she received a visit from Mr. Alden Lytton.

She received him alone in the front drawing-room.

He apologized for calling on her after she had forbidden him to do so,
but said that he came on the part of Miss Cavendish to ask if she had
received certain letters from Blue Cliff Hall, and to renew, in Emma's
name, her pressing invitation to Mrs. Grey to come and be present at the
approaching wedding.

"Emma wishes me to take charge of you on the journey. And I assure you,
if you will intrust yourself to me, I will take such tender care of you
that you shall know neither fatigue nor inconvenience of any sort," he
added, earnestly.

"I can not go," she answered, coldly.

"Ah, do, for your friend's sake, change your mind," pleaded Alden.

"I can not," she answered.

"But Emma will be so disappointed!"

"I can not help it if she should be. I can not be present at the
wedding," she repeated, faintly.

"But why not? Why can you not go?" persisted Alden.

"Man--man," she burst forth, suddenly, as her whole face changed
fearfully, "how can you ask me such a question? Do you forget that _we_
were to have been married once?--that _we_ loved each other once? But
you threw me over. Now you invite me to your wedding with my rival! And
you ask me why I can not go! Do you take me for a woman of wood or stone
or iron? You will find me a woman of fire! I told you not to come
here--to keep away from me! If you had had sense to perceive--if you had
had even eyes in your head to see with, you would have obeyed me and
avoided me! I told you not to come here. I tell you now to go away. I
will not be present at your wedding. Make what explanat