d the presence of her child.
Meanwhile, as the happy Emmeline went to prepare her little packet for
her dear old nurse, the thought suddenly arose that St. Eval had sent
his remembrances and adieus to Ellen only, he had not mentioned
Caroline; and unsophisticated as she was, this struck her as something
very strange, and she was not long in connecting this circumstance with
his sudden departure. Wild, sportive, and innocent as Emmeline was, she
yet possessed a depth of reflection and clearness of perception, which
those who only knew her casually might not have expected. She had marked
with extreme pleasure that which she believed the mutual attachment of
St. Eval and her sister; and with her ready fancy ever at work, had
indulged very often in airy visions, in which she beheld Caroline
Countess St. Eval, and mistress of that beautiful estate in Cornwall,
which she had heard Mrs. Hamilton say had been presented by the Marquis
of Malvern to his son on his twenty-first birthday. Emmeline had
indulged these fancies, and noticed the conduct of Caroline and St.
Eval till she really believed their union would take place. She had been
so delighted at the receipt of Mary's letter, that she had no time to
remember the young Earl's departure; but when she was alone, that truth
suddenly flashed across her mind, and another strange incident, though
at the time she had not remarked it, when she had said as her brother
she would remember him, he had repeated, with startling emphasis, "as
her _friend_." "What could it all mean?" she thought. "Caroline cannot
have rejected him? No, that is quite impossible. My sister would surely
not be such a practised coquette. I must seek her and have the mystery
solved. Surely she will be sorry St. Eval leaves us so soon."

Emmeline hastened first to Ellen, begging her to pack up the little
packet for Mrs. Langford, for she knew such an opportunity would be as
acceptable to her cousin as to herself; for Ellen never forgot the
humble kindness and prompt attention she had received from the widow
during her long and tedious illness; and by little offerings, and what
the good woman still more valued, by a few kind and playful lines, which
ever accompanied them, she endeavoured to prove her sense of Widow
Langford's conduct.

In five minutes more Emmeline was in her sister's room. Caroline was
partly dressed as if for a morning drive, and her attendant leaving just
as her sister entered. She looked pal