It was Mrs. Darrell's. She had come across the room towards us,
unobserved by me, at any rate. Whether Angus Egerton had seen her or
not, I do not know. He rose to shake hands with her, and then went
on talking about Milly's sketching.

Mr. Collingwood took Mrs. Darrell in to dinner, and Mr. Egerton gave
his arm to Milly, and was seated next her at the prettily decorated
table, upon which there was always a wealth of roses at this time of
year. I saw Augusta Darrell's eye wander restlessly in that
direction many times during dinner, and I felt that the dear girl I
loved so fondly was in an atmosphere of falsehood. What was the
nature of the past acquaintance between those two people? and why
was it tacitly denied by both of them? If it had been an ordinary
friendship, there could have been no reason for this concealment and
suppression. I had never quite made up my mind to trust Angus
Egerton, though I liked and admired him; and this mysterious
relation between him and Augusta Darrell was a sufficient cause for
serious distrust.

'I wish she cared for him less,' I said to myself, as I glanced at
Milly's bright happy face.

When we went back to the drawing-room after dinner, the Miss
Collingwoods had a great deal to say to Milly about a grand croquet-
match which was to take place in a week or two at Pensildon, Sir
john and Lady Pensildon's place, fourteen miles from Thornleigh. The
Rector's daughters, both of whom were several years older than
Milly, were passionately fond of croquet and everything in the way
of gaiety, and were full of excitement about this coming event,
discussing what they were going to wear, and what Milly was going to