g, she left the
room, giving her dear friend no time for further argument.

Lady Eustace got away that morning, not in time, indeed, for the
11.30 train, but at such an hour as to make it unnecessary that she
should appear at the early dinner. The saying of farewell was very
cold and ceremonious. Of course, there was no word as to any future
visit,--no word as to any future events whatever. They all shook
hands with her, and special injunctions were given to the coachman
to drive her safely to the station. At this ceremony Lucy was not
present. Lydia had asked her to come down and say good-bye; but Lucy
refused. "I saw her in her own room," said Lucy.

"And was it all very affectionate?" Lydia asked.

"Well--no; it was not affectionate at all." This was all that Lucy
said, and thus Lady Eustace completed her visit to Fawn Court.

The letters were taken away for the post at eight o'clock in the
evening, and before that time it was necessary that Lucy should write
to her lover. "Lady Fawn," she said in a whisper, "may I tell him to
come here?"

"Certainly, my dear. You had better tell him to call on me. Of course
he'll see you, too, when he comes."

"I think he'd want to see me," said Lucy, "and I'm sure I should want
to see him!" Then she wrote her answer to Frank's letter. She allowed
herself an hour for the happy task; but though the letter, when
written, was short, the hour hardly sufficed for the writing of it.

"DEAR MR. GREYSTOCK;"--there was matter for her of great
consideration before she could get even so far as this; but, after
biting her pen for ten minutes, during which she pictured to herself
how pleasant it would be to call him Frank when he should have told
her to do so, and had found, upon repeated whispered trials, that of
all names it was the pleasantest to pronounce, she decided upon
refraining from writing it now--

Lady Fawn has seen your letter to me,--the dearest letter
that ever was written,--and she says that you may call
upon _her_. But you mustn't go away without seeing _me
too_.

Then there was great difficulty as to the words to be used by her for
the actual rendering herself up to him as his future wife. At last
the somewhat too Spartan simplicity of her nature prevailed, and the
words were written, very plain and very short.

I love you better than all the world, and I will be your
wife. It shall be the happiness of my life to try to
deserve you.