dy Day, they would,
of course, be married accordingly. She had taken her fling at having
her own will, and she and all her friends had seen what had come of
it. She had assumed the command of the ship, and had thrown it upon
the rocks, and she felt that she never ought to take the captain's
place again. It was well for her that he who was to be captain was
one whom she respected as thoroughly as she loved him.

She would write to her father at once,--to her father and Lady
Macleod,--and would confess everything. She felt that she owed it to
them that they should be told by herself that they had been right and
that she had been wrong. Hitherto she had not mentioned to either of
them the fact that Mr Grey was with them in Switzerland. And, then,
what must she do as to Lady Midlothian? As to Lady Midlothian, she
would do nothing. Lady Midlothian, of course, would triumph;--would
jump upon her, as Lady Glencora had once expressed it, with very
triumphant heels,--would try to patronize her, or, which would be
almost worse, would make a parade of her forgiveness. But she would
have nothing to do with Lady Midlothian, unless, indeed, Mr Grey
should order it. Then she laughed at herself again with that inward
laughter, and, rising from her seat, proceeded to walk down the hill
to the hotel.

"Vanquished at last!" said Lady Glencora, as Alice entered the room.

"Yes, vanquished; if you like to call it so," said Alice.

"It is not what I call it, but what you feel it," said the other.
"Do you think that I don't know you well enough to be sure that you
regard yourself now as an unfortunate prisoner,--as a captive taken
in war, to be led away in triumph, without any hope of a ransom? I
know that it is quite a misery to you that you should be made a happy
woman of at last. I understand it all, my dear, and my heart bleeds
for you."

"Of course; I knew that was the way you would treat me."

"In what way would you have me treat you? If I were to hug you with
joy, and tell you how good he is, and how fortunate you are,--if I
were to praise him, and bid you triumph in your success, as might be
expected on such an occasion,--you would put on a long face at once,
and tell me that though the thing is to be, it would be much better
that the thing shouldn't be. Don't I know you, Alice?"

"I shouldn't have said that;--not now."

"I believe in my heart you would;--that, or something like it. But I
do wish you joy all the same, and yo