recriminations and reproaches, and young Gard, after his brief and
bitter experience with the gentry, had left the vicinity of Tunbridge
Wells and later on married a girl of his own class.

But Miss Wickham had been more shaken at the prospect of losing her
young companion, who was so thoroughly broken in, than she would have
liked to have confessed. She detested new faces about her, and as a
matter of fact, she came as nearly caring for Nora as it was possible
for her to care for any human being. She had told the girl then that it
was her intention to make some provision for her at her death, so that
she might have a decent competence and not be obliged to look for
another position. There was, of course, the implied understanding that
she would remain with Miss Wickham until that lady was summoned to a
better and brighter world, a step which Miss Wickham, herself, was in no
immediate hurry to take. In the meantime, she knew perfectly well just
how often a prospective legacy could be dangled before expectant eyes
with perfect delicacy.

It furnished her with an additional weapon, too, against her nephew,
James Wickham, and his wife, both of whom she cordially detested,
although she fully intended leaving them the bulk of her fortune. The
consideration and tenderness she showed toward Nora when Mr. and Mrs.
Wickham ran down from London to see their dear aunt showed a latent
talent for comedy, on the part of the chief actress, of no mean order.
These occasions left Nora in a state of mind in which exasperation and
amusement were about equally blended. It was amusing to note the signs
of apprehension on the part of Miss Wickham's disagreeable relatives as
they noted their aunt's doting fondness for her hired companion. And
while she felt that they richly deserved this little punishment, it was
humiliating to be so cynically made use of.