the good lady to herself. "Well, I am glad I have appeared on the
scene. Poor David is just the sort of man who would forget everybody
else when he is in a state of grief. Of course I know he was
passionately attached to Evangeline, and she certainly was a charming,
although _quite_ incapable, creature. I suppose she was what would be
termed 'a man's woman.' Now, I have never any patience with them, and
when I think of those acres of land and--but, dear me! sometimes a
matter-of-fact, plain body like myself is useful in an emergency. The
emergency has arrived with a vengeance, and I am determined to take
the fortress by storm."

The little lady trotted down one or two passages, then turned abruptly
to her left, and knocked at a closed door. A voice said, "Come in."
She opened the door and entered. A man was standing with his back to
her in the deep embrasure of a mullioned window. His hands were
clasped behind his back; he was looking fixedly out. The window was
wide open.

"There, David, there! I knew you would take it hard; but have the
goodness to turn round and speak to me," said Mrs. Dolman.

When he heard these unexpected words, the master of Delaney Manor
turned with a visible start.

"My dear Jane, what have you come for?" he exclaimed. He advanced to
meet his sister, dismay evident on every line of his face.

"I knew you would not welcome me, David. Oh, no prevarications! if you
please. It is awful to think how many lies people tell in the cause of
politeness. When I undertook this wearisome journey from the north of