he
lady's invitation. "Are you better now?" he asked.

"I have never had anything the matter with me," she replied, quietly;
"tell the man to drive faster."

Having obeyed his instructions, the gentleman (otherwise Amelius) began
to look a little puzzled. The lady (Mrs. Farnaby herself) perceived his
condition of mind, and favoured him with an explanation.

"I had my own motive for asking you to luncheon today," she began,
in that steady downright way of speaking that was peculiar to her. "I
wanted to have a word with you privately. My niece Regina--don't be
surprised at my calling her my niece, when you have heard Mr. Farnaby
call her his daughter. She _is_ my niece. Adopting her is a mere phrase.
It doesn't alter facts; it doesn't make her Mr. Farnaby's child or mine,
does it?"

She had ended with a question, but she seemed to want no answer to it.
Her face was turned towards the cab-window, instead of towards Amelius.
He was one of those rare people who are capable of remaining silent when
they have nothing to say. Mrs. Farnaby went on.

"My niece Regina is a good creature in her way; but she suspects people.
She has some reason of her own for trying to prevent me from taking you
into my confidence; and her friend Cecilia is helping her. Yes, yes; the
concert was the obstacle which they had arranged to put in my way. You
were obliged to go, after telling them you wanted to hear the music; and
I couldn't complain, because they had got a fourth ticket for me. I made
up my mind what to do; and I have done it. Nothing wonderful in my being
taken ill with the heat; nothing wonderful in your doing your duty as a
gentleman and looking after me--and what is the consequence? Here we are
together, on our way to my room, in spite of them. Not so bad for a poor
helpless creature like me, is it?"

Inwardly wondering what it all meant, and what she could possibly
want with him, Amelius suggested that the young ladies might leave the
concert-room, and, not finding them in the vestibule, might follow them
back to the house.

Mrs. Farnaby turned her head from the window, and looked him in the face
for the first time. "I have been a match for them so far," she said;
"leave it to me, and you will find I can be a match for them still."

After saying this, she watched the puzzled face of Amelius with a
moment's steady scrutiny. Her full lips relaxed into a faint smile; her
head sank slowly on her bosom. "I wonder whether he thin