e. The Dean
was very anxious that his daughter should in truth be fond of his
company. In the game which he intended to play her co-operation and her
influence over her husband would be very necessary to him. She must be
a Lovelace rather than a Germain till she should blaze forth as the
presiding genius of the Germain family. That Lord George should become
tired of him and a little afraid of him he knew could not be avoided;
but to her he must, if possible, be a pleasant genius, never
accompanied in her mind by ideas of parental severity or clerical
heaviness. "I should weary you out if I came too often and came so
suddenly," he said, laughing.

"But what has brought you, papa?"

"The Marquis, my dear, who, it seems to me, will, for some time to
come, have a considerable influence on my doings."

"The Marquis!"

He had made up his mind that she should know everything. If her husband
did not tell her, he would. "Yes, the Marquis. Perhaps I ought to say
the Marchioness, only that I am unwilling to give that title to a lady
who I think very probably has no right to it."

"Is all that coming up already?"

"The longer it is postponed the greater will be the trouble to all
parties. It cannot be endured that a man in his position should tell us
that his son is legitimate when that son was born more than a year
before he had declared himself about to marry, and that he should then
refuse to furnish us with any evidence."

"Have you asked him?" Mary, as she made the suggestion, was herself
horror-stricken at the awfulness of the occasion.

"George has asked him."

"And what has the Marquis done?"

"Sent him back a jeering reply. He has a way of jeering which he thinks
will carry everything before it. When I called upon him he jeered at
me. But he'll have to learn that he cannot jeer you out of your
rights."

"I wish you would not think about my rights, papa."

"Your rights will probably be the rights of some one else."

"I know, papa; but still----"

"It has to be done, and George quite agrees with me. The letter which
he did write to his brother was arranged between us. Lady Sarah is
quite of the same accord, and Lady Susanna----"

"Oh, papa, I do so hate Susanna." This she said with all her eloquence.

"I daresay she can make herself unpleasant."

"I have told George that she shall not come here again as a guest."

"What did she do?"

"I cannot bring myself to tell you what it was that she said. I tol