had loved him so well; who had so loved him,
that, as he himself felt, her love would fashion all her future life
either for weal or for woe? "I am unworthy of her, and will tell
her so," he said to himself. How many a false hound of a man has
endeavoured to salve his own conscience by such mock humility? But
he acknowledged at this moment, as he rose from his seat to dress
himself, that the die was cast, and that it was open to him now to
say what he pleased to Lady Alexandrina. "Others have gone through
the same fire before," he said to himself, as he walked downstairs,
"and have come out scatheless." And then he recalled to himself the
names of various men of high repute in the world who were supposed to
have committed in their younger days some such little mistake as that
into which he had been betrayed.

In passing through the hall he overtook Lady Julia De Guest, and
was in time to open for her the door of the drawing-room. He then
remembered that she had come into the billiard-room at one side, and
had gone out at the other, while he was standing with Alexandrina at
the window. He had not, however, then thought much of Lady Julia; and
as he now stood for her to pass by him through the doorway, he made
to her some indifferent remark.

But Lady Julia was on some subjects a stern woman, and not without
a certain amount of courage. In the last week she had seen what had
been going on, and had become more and more angry. Though she had
disowned any family connection with Lily Dale, nevertheless she now
felt for her sympathy and almost affection. Nearly every day she had
repeated stiffly to the countess some incident of Crosbie's courtship
and engagement to Miss Dale,--speaking of it as with absolute
knowledge, as a thing settled at all points. This she had done to the
countess alone, in the presence of the countess and Alexandrina, and
also before all the female guests of the castle. But what she had
said was received simply with an incredulous smile. "Dear me! Lady
Julia," the countess had replied at last, "I shall begin to think
you are in love with Mr Crosbie yourself; you harp so constantly on
this affair of his. One would think that young ladies in your part
of the world must find it very difficult to get husbands, seeing
that the success of one young lady is trumpeted so loudly." For the
moment, Lady Julia was silenced; but it was not easy to silence her
altogether when she had a subject for speech near her he