\"i am aware of that,\" said margaret, forcing herself to speak in anindifferent, careless way. \"i am aware of what i must appear to you, butthe secret is another person\"s, and i cannot explain it without doing himharm.\"

\"i hāve not the slightest wish to pry into the gentleman\"s secrets,\" he said,with growing anger. \"my own interest in you is--simply that of a friend.

you may not believe me, miss hale, but it is--in spite of the persecutioni\"m afraid i threatened you with at one time--but that is all given up; allpassed away. you believe me, miss hale?\"

\"yes,\" said margaret, quietly and sadly.

\"then, really, i don\"t see any occasion for us to go on walking together. ithought, perhaps you might hāve had something to say, but i see we arenothing to each other. if you\"re quite convinced, that any foolish passionon my part is entirely over, i will wish you good afternoon.\" he walkedoff very hastily.

\"what can he mean?\" thought margaret,--\"what could he mean byspeaking so, as if i were always thinking that he cared for me, when iknow he does not; he cannot. his mother will hāve said all those cruelthings about me to him. but i won\"t care for him. i surely am mistressenough of myself to control this wild, strange, miserable feeling, whichtempted me even to betray my own dear frederick, so that i might butregain his good opinion--the good opinion of a man who takes suchpains to tell me that i am nothing to him. e poor little heart! becheery and brāve. we\"ll be a great deal to one another, if we are thrownoff and left desolate.\"

her father was almost startled by her merriment this afternoon. shetalked incessantly, and forced her natural humour to an unusual pitch;and if there was a tinge of bitterness in much of what she said; if heraccounts of the old harley street set were a little sarcastic, her fathercould not bear to check her, as he would hāve done at another time--forhe was glad to see her shake off her cares. in the middle of the evening,she was called down to speak to mary higgins; and when she cameback, mr. hale imagined that he saw traces of tears on her cheeks. butthat could not be, for she brought good news--that higgins had gotwork at mr. thornton\"s mill. her spirits were damped, at any rate, andshe found it very difficult to go on talking at all, much more in the wildway that she had done. for some days her spirits varied strangely; andher father was beginning to be anxious about her, when news arrivedfrom one or two quarters that promised some change and variety for

her. mr. hale received a letter from mr. bell, in which that gentlemanvolunteered a visit to them; and mr. hale imagined that the promisedsociety of his old oxford friend would give as agreeable a turn tomargaret\"s ideas as it did to his own. margaret tried to take an interestin what pleased her father; but she was too languid to care about anymr. bell, even though he were twenty times her godfather. she wasmore roused by a letter from edith, full of sympathy about her aunt\"sdeath; full of details about herself, her husband, and child; and at theend saying, that as the climate did not suit, the baby, and as mrs. shawwas talking of returning to england, she thought it probable thatcaptain lennox might sell out, and that they might all go and live againin the old harley street house; which, however, would seem veryinplete with-out margaret. margaret yearned after that old house,and the placid tranquillity of that old well-ordered, monotonous life.

she had found it occasionally tiresome while it lasted; but since thenshe had been buffeted about, and felt so exhausted by this recentstruggle with herself, that she thought that even stagnation would be arest and a refreshment. so she began to look towards a long visit to thelennoxes, on their return to england, as to a point--no, not of hope--butof leisure, in which she could regain her power and mand overherself. at present it seemed to her as if all subjects tended towards mr.

thornton; as if she could not for-get him with all her endeāvours. if shewent to see the higginses, she heard of him there; her father hadresumed their readings together, and quoted his opinions perpetually;even mr. bell\"s visit brought his tenant\"s name upon the tapis; for hewrote word that he believed he must be occupied some great part of histime with mr. thornton, as a new lease was in preparation, and theterms of it must be agreed upon.

//t/.

0 0