"Yet, though I asked you to come and tell me who were the guests at Lady
Haughton's, you never did so."

"Pardon me; but of the guests I thought nothing, and letters addressed to
my heart seemed to me too sacred to talk about. And Ashleigh Sumner then
courts Lilian! How do you know?"

"I know everything that concerns me; and here, the explanation is simple.
My aunt, Lady Delafield, is staying with Lady Haughton. Lady Delafield is
one of the women of fashion who shine by their own light; Lady Haughton
shines by borrowed light, and borrows every ray she can find."

"And Lady Delafield writes you word--"

"That Ashleigh Sumner is caught by Lilian's beauty."

"And Lilian herself--"

"Women like Lady Delafield do not readily believe that any girl could
refuse Ashleigh Sumner; considered in himself, he is steady and good-
looking; considered as owner of Kirby Hall and Haughton Park, he has,
in the eyes of any sensible mother, the virtues of Cato and the beauty
of Antinous."

I pressed my hand to my heart; close to my heart lay a letter from Lilian,
and there was no word in that letter which showed that her heart was gone
from mine. I shook my head gently, and smiled in confiding triumph.

Mrs. Poyntz surveyed me with a bent brow and a compressed lip.