life in vain. Perhaps he is in no way to blame for his father's conduct
He may have had no part in it"

"Perhaps he has not," said Dorothy, musingly.

It was not a pleasant task for me to praise Sir John, but my sense of
justice impelled me to do so. I tried to make myself feel injured and
chagrined because of Dorothy's manner toward him; for you must remember I
had arranged with myself to marry this girl, but I could not work my
feelings into a state of indignation against the heir to Rutland. The
truth is, my hope of winning Dorothy had evaporated upon the first sight
of her, like the volatile essence it really was. I cannot tell you why,
but I at once seemed to realize that all the thought and labor which I had
devoted to the arduous task of arranging with myself this marriage was
labor lost. So I frankly told her my kindly feelings for Sir John, and
gave her my high estimate of his character.

I continued: "You see, Dorothy, I could not so easily explain to your
father my association with Sir John, and I hope you will not speak of it
to any one, lest the news should reach Sir George's ears."

"I will not speak of it," she returned, sighing faintly. "After all, it is
not his fault that his father is such a villain. He doesn't look like his
father, does he?"

"I cannot say. I never saw Lord Rutland," I replied.

"He is the most villanous-looking--" but she broke off the sentence and
stood for a moment in revery. We were in the darkened passage, and Dorothy
had taken my hand. That little act in another woman of course would have