y difficult, he felt, to be sentimental with her. She had
turned to the window, and was looking out again at the flowers; one
little white hand played impatiently with a branch of guelder roses that
came peeping in.

"I am jealous of those flowers," said the captain; "will you look at me
instead of them?"

She raised her beautiful eyes, and looked at him so calmly, with so much
conscious superiority in her manner, that the captain felt "smaller"
than ever.

"You are talking nonsense to me," she said, loftily; "and as I do not
like nonsense, will you tell me what you have to say?"

The voice was calm and cold, the tones measured and slightly
contemptuous; it was very difficult under such circumstances to be an
eloquent wooer, but the recollection of Darrell Court and its large
rent-roll came to him and restored his fast expiring courage.

"I want to ask a favor of you," he said; and the pleading expression
that he managed to throw into his face was really creditable to him. "I
want to ask you if you will be a little kinder to me. I admire you so
much that I should be the happiest man in all the world if you would but
give me ever so little of your friendship."

She seemed to consider his words--to ponder them; and from her silence
he took hope.

"I am quite unworthy, I know; but, if you knew how all my life long I
have desired the friendship of a good and noble woman, you would be
kinder to me--you would indeed!"

"Do you think, then, that I am good and noble?" she asked.

"I am sure of it; your face----"

"I wish," she interrupted, "that Sir Oswald were of your opinion. You
have lived in what people call 'the world' all your life, Captain
Langton, I suppose?"

"Yes," he replied, wondering what would follow.

"You have been in society all that time, yet I am the first 'good and
noble woman' you have met! You are hardly complimentary to the sex,
after all."

The captain was slightly taken aback.

"I did not say those exact words, Miss Darrell."

"But you implied them. Tell me why you wish for my friendship more than
any other. Miss Hastings is ten thousand times more estimable than I
am--why not make her your friend?"

"I admire you--I like you. I could say more, but I dare not. You are
hard upon me, Miss Darrell."

"I have no wish to be hard," she returned. "Who am I that I should be
hard upon any one? But, you see, I am unfortunately what people call
very plain-spoken--very truthful."

"So much