ence to this summons, he returned to her
when his wife was called upon to attend to the ordinary cloak and
petticoat conclave of the other ladies. In regard to these charitable
meetings she had partly carried her own way. She had so far thrown off
authority as to make it understood that she was not to be bound by the
rules which her sisters-in-law had laid down for their own guidance.
But her rebellion had not been complete, and she still gave them a
certain number of weekly stitches. Lord George had said nothing of his
purpose; but for a full hour before luncheon he was alone with Mrs.
Houghton. If a gentleman may call on a lady in her house, surely he
may, without scandal, pay her a visit in his own. That a married man
should chat for an hour with another man's wife in a country house is
not much. Where is the man and where the woman who has not done that,
quite as a matter of course? And yet when Lord George knocked at the
door there was a feeling on him that he was doing something in which he
would not wish to be detected. "This is so good of you," she said. "Do
sit down; and don't run away. Your mother and sisters have been
here,--so nice of them, you know; but everybody treats me as though I
oughtn't to open my mouth for above five minutes at a time. I feel as
though I should like to jump the brook again immediately."

"Pray don't do that."

"Well, no; not quite yet. You don't like hunting, I'm afraid?"

"The truth is," said Lord George, "that I've never been able to afford
to keep horses."

"Ah, that's a reason. Mr. Houghton, of course, is a rich man; but I
don't know anything so little satisfactory in itself as being rich."

"It is comfortable."

"Oh yes, it is comfortable; but so unsatisfactory! Of course Mr.
Houghton can keep any number of horses; but, what's the use, when he
never rides to hounds? Better not have them at all, I think. I am very
fond of hunting myself."

"I daresay I should have liked it had it come in my way early in life."

"You speak of yourself as if you were a hundred years old. I know your
age exactly. You are just seventeen years younger than Mr. Houghton!"
To this Lord George had no reply to make. Of course he had felt that
when Miss De Baron had married Mr. Houghton she had married quite an
old man. "I wonder whether you were much surprised when you heard that
I was engaged to Mr. Houghton?"

"I was, rather."

"Because he is so old?"

"Not that altogether."

"I was sur