Francine's friendly tone. "Would you have talked
politics, in my place?" she asked gayly.

"In your place, I should have had the most delightful of companions,"
Francine rejoined; "I wish I had been overcome by the heat too!"

Mirabel--attentively observing her--acknowledged the compliment by a
bow, and left Emily to continue the conversation. In perfect good faith
she owned to having led Mirabel to talk of himself. She had heard from
Cecilia that his early life had been devoted to various occupations,
and she was interested in knowing how circumstances had led him into
devoting himself to the Church. Francine listened with the outward
appearance of implicit belief, and with the inward conviction that Emily
was deliberately deceiving her. When the little narrative was at an end,
she was more agreeable than ever. She admired Emily's dress, and she
rivaled Cecilia in enjoyment of the good things on the table; she
entertained Mirabel with humorous anecdotes of the priests at St.
Domingo, and was so interested in the manufacture of violins, ancient
and modern, that Mr. Wyvil promised to show her his famous collection of
instruments, after dinner. Her overflowing amiability included even
poor Miss Darnaway and the absent brothers and sisters. She heard with
flattering sympathy, how they had been ill and had got well again; what
amusing tricks they played, what alarming accidents happened to them,
and how remarkably clever they were--"including, I do assure you, dear
Miss de Sor, the baby only ten months old." When the ladies rose to
retire, Francine was, socially speaking, the heroine of the evening.

While the violins were in course of exhibition, Mirabel found an
opportunity of speaking to Emily, unobserved.

"Have you said, or done, anything to offend Miss de Sor?" he asked.

"Nothing whatever!" Emily declared, startled by the question. "What
makes you think I have offended her?"

"I have been trying to find a reason for the change in her," Mirabel
answered--"especially the change toward yourself."

"Well?"

"Well--she means mischief."

"Mischief of what sort?"

"Of a sort which may expose her to discovery--unless she disarms
suspicion at the outset. That is (as I believe) exactly what she has
been doing this evening. I needn't warn you to be on your guard."

All the next day Emily was on the watch for events--and nothing
happened. Not the slightest appearance of jealousy betrayed itself in
Francine. She mad