him tea, and it will be altogether
trying and exciting.

He is coming ostensibly to take over his place, I suppose, but in reality
it is to look at me, and see if in any way he will be able to persuade
himself to carry out his aunt's wishes. I wonder what it will be like to
be married to some one you don't know and don't like? I am not greatly
acquainted yet with the ways of men. We have not had any that you could
call that here, much--only a lot of old wicked sort of things, in the
autumn, to shoot the pheasants, and play bridge with Mrs. Carruthers. The
marvel to me was how they ever killed anything, such antiques they were!
Some politicians and ambassadors, and creatures of that sort; and mostly
as wicked as could be. They used to come trotting down the passage to the
school-room, and have tea with mademoiselle and me on the slightest
provocation, and say such things! I am sure lots of what they said meant
something else, mademoiselle used to giggle so. She was rather a
good-looking one I had the last four years, but I hated her. There was
never any one young and human who counted.

I did look forward to coming out in London, but being so late, every one
was preoccupied when we got there, and no one got in love with me much.
Indeed, we went out very little; a part of the time I had a swollen nose
from a tennis-ball at Ranelagh, and people don't look at girls with
swollen noses.

I wonder where I shall go and live! Perhaps in Paris--unless, of course, I
marry Mr. Carruthers. I don't suppose it is dull being married. In London
all the married ones seemed to have a lovely time, and had not to bother
with their husbands much.

Mrs. Carruthers always assured me love was a thing of absolutely no
consequence in marriage. You were bound to love some one some time, but
the very fact of being chained to him would dispel the feeling. It was a
thing to be looked upon like measles, or any other disease, and was better
to get it over and then turn to the solid affairs of life. But how she
expected me to get it over when she never arranged for me to see any one,
I don't know.

I asked her one day what I should do if I got to like some one after I am
married to Mr. Carruthers, and she laughed one of her horrid laughs, and
said I should probably do as the rest of the world. And what do they do, I
wonder? Well, I suppose I shall find out some day.

Of course there is the possibility that Christopher (do I like the name of
Chris