dine alone."

"What do you mean by alone?"

"I meant without me,--as two men generally like to do."

"If I wanted that I should have asked him to dine at the club," said
Mr Vavasor, and then he again attempted to go.

"But, papa--"

"Well, my dear! If you mean to say that because of what has
passed you object to meet Mr Grey, I can only tell you it's
nonsense,--confounded nonsense. If he chooses to come there can be
no reason why you shouldn't receive him."

"It will look as though--"

"Look what?"

"As though he were asked as my guest."

"That's nonsense. I saw him yesterday, and I asked him to come. I saw
him again to-day, and he said he would come. He's not such a fool as
to suppose after that, that you asked him."

"No; not that I asked him."

"And if you run away you'll only make more of the thing than it's
worth. Of course I can't make you dine with me if you don't like."

Alice did not like it, but, after some consideration, she thought
that she might be open to the imputation of having made more of the
thing than it was worth if she ran away, as her father called it. She
was going to leave the country for some six or eight months,--perhaps
for a longer time than that, and it might be as well that she should
have an opportunity of telling her plans to Mr Grey. She could do it,
she thought, in such a way as to make him understand that her last
quarrel with George Vavasor was not supposed to alter the footing on
which she stood with him. She did not doubt that her father had told
everything to Mr Grey. She knew well enough what her father's wishes
still were. It was not odd that he should be asking John Grey to
his house, though such exercises of domestic hospitality were very
unusual with him. But,--so she declared to herself,--such little
attempts on his part would be altogether thrown away. It was a pity
that he had not yet learned to know her better. She would receive
Mr Grey as the mistress of her father's house now, for the last
time; and then, on her return in the following year, he would be at
Nethercoats, and the whole thing would be over.

She dressed herself very plainly, simply changing one black frock for
another, and then sat herself in her drawing-room awaiting the two
gentlemen. It was already past the hour of dinner before her father
came up-stairs. She knew that he was in the house, and in her heart
she accused him of keeping out of the way, in order that John
Grey might be alon