warmed his heart? He met it with an answering glance, which thrilled her
strangely, for love, gratitude, and some mysterious intelligence met and
mingled in the brilliant yet soft expression which swiftly shone and
faded in her face. What it was she could not tell; she only felt that it
filled her with an indescribable emotion never experienced before. In an
instant it all passed, Lady Treherne spoke to her, and Blanche Talbot
addressed Maurice, wondering, as she did so, if the enchanting smile he
wore was meant for her.

"Mr. Annon having mercifully set me free, I came to try to cheer your
solitude; but you look as if solitude made you happier than society does
the rest of us," she said without her usual affectation, for his manner
impressed her.

"You are very kind and very welcome. I do find pleasures to beguile my
loneliness, which gayer people would not enjoy, and it is well that I
can, else I should turn morose and tyrannical, and doom some unfortunate
to entertain me all day long." He answered with a gentle courtesy which
was his chief attraction to womankind.

"Pray tell me some of your devices, I'm often alone in spirit, if not so
in the flesh, for Rose, though a dear girl, is not congenial, and I find
no kindred soul."

A humorous glimmer came to Treherne's eyes, as the sentimental damsel
beamed a soft sigh and drooped her long lashes effectively. Ignoring the
topic of "kindred souls," he answered coldly, "My favorite amusement is
studying the people around me. It may be rude, but tied to my corner, I
cannot help watching the figures around me, and discovering their little
plots and plans. I'm getting very expert, and really surprise myself