After an interval of more than a week, Lady Dighton reappeared at
Hunsdon, and Maurice's opportunity arrived. It was during their
invariable _tête-à-tête_ while Mr. Beresford slept that the wished-for
conversation took place, and Lady Dighton unconsciously helped her
cousin to begin it by telling him laughing that she had been looking out
for a wife for him, and found one that she thought would do exactly.

"You must contrive by some means or other," she said, "to get away from
Hunsdon a little more than you have been doing, and come over to Dighton
for a day or two, that I may introduce you."

"I wish with all my heart," he answered quickly, "that I could get away
from Hunsdon for a little while, but I am afraid I should use my liberty
to go much further than Dighton."

She looked at him with surprise.

"I did not know," she said, "that you had any friends in England except
here."

"I have none. What I mean is that I want to go back to Canada for a week
or two."

"To Canada! The other side of the world! What do you mean?"

"Nothing very unreasonable. I am very uneasy about my father, who is
almost as great an invalid as my grandfather, and has no one but an old
housekeeper to take care of him. I should like to go and bring him to
England."