and in the heart of each man his own affairs had a claim far above any
requirements of friendship. So, throughout the day, they kept seeing
each other out. The position was doubtless somewhat embarrassing to
Sarah, and though the satisfaction of her vanity that she should be thus
adored was very pleasing, yet there were moments when she was annoyed
with both men for being so persistent. Her only consolation at such
moments was that she saw, through the elaborate smiles of the other
girls when in passing they noticed her door thus doubly guarded, the
jealousy which filled their hearts. Sarah's mother was a person of
commonplace and sordid ideas, and, seeing all along the state of
affairs, her one intention, persistently expressed to her daughter in
the plainest words, was to so arrange matters that Sarah should get all
that was possible out of both men. With this purpose she had cunningly
kept herself as far as possible in the background in the matter of her
daughter's wooings, and watched in silence. At first Sarah had been
indignant with her for her sordid views; but, as usual, her weak nature
gave way before persistence, and she had now got to the stage of
acceptance. She was not surprised when her mother whispered to her in
the little yard behind the house:--

'Go up the hillside for a while; I want to talk to these two. They're
both red-hot for ye, and now's the time to get things fixed!' Sarah
began a feeble remonstrance, but her mother cut her short.

'I tell ye, girl, that my mind is made up! Both these men want ye, and
only one can have ye, but before ye choose it'll be so arranged that
ye'll have all that both have got! Don't argy, child! Go up the
hillside, and when ye come back I'll have it fixed--I see a way quite
easy!' So Sarah went up the hillside through the narrow paths between
the golden furze, and Mrs. Trefusis joined the two men in the