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“ You are so good," Ada gently returned. “ Perhaps we may be home again before Doctor March calls ; but, it we are not, pray remind him, dear Mri. Throgmorton, of fihe book he promised to lend me, in case he “ Take Ada. to the park. my love,” she suggested, the park being one of the small ‘ hone ” of Bax-laston which Miss Ludlowhad not yet seen. " Now don’t look so anxiously at the sofa, you dear little creature l”â€"kieaing Miss Ludlow’s cheek. “ Can’t you trust me to take care of your mother for an hour, and to report all that the Dooter says to her, word for word ?” It was one morning in the second week of poor Mrs. Ludlow’a oonvaleseenee, and the two girls had been ordered out for a walk by Mrs. Throgmorton. Then Bee determined that she would school herself into greater charity towards her mother’s protege ; but in the midst of her efforts something happenedâ€"it was notmueh â€"it might have been an accidentâ€"after which the girl told herself that right or wrong she could no longer honestly call Miss Ludlow her mend. “ No, it is my own fault. ; it must be my fault 1” poor Bee decided over and over again, after hours spent in these puzzled questions. “ It is I who am ungenerous and â€"yesâ€"snd jeelous"â€"il; was with burning cheeks she whispered the admissionâ€"“ and can see no good in her. 011, I am ashamed I I don't; know why such feelings have come to me. I was not thinking about them ; but now they are here, and I cannot put them away 1” Nor was there anything in Ada's beaiiug towards Doctor March, or Jack, or towards Ted Ackioyd in which her puzzled young censor could take exception. Miss Ludlow was as sunple, frank and modest With young men as she was with everyone else. In spite of that first disagreeable impression which still haunted Bee, she was compelled to admit. that the young lady, when in their society, indulged in none of the ogles or manoeuvres of the traditional siren, a character which Miss Throgmornon had met more than once in the course of the novel reading about which George used to scold her. The girl had honestly tried to take the blame to herself. Everybody else found Miss Ludlow charming ; she was certainly as gen- tle and agreeable as it was possible for a. girl to be. and her manner to Bee was at all times simply perfect, in spite of certain abrupt ways and flashes of temper, into which, in her new born trouble, Mary Throgmorton’s daughter had been at times betrayed, and which Ada might very fairly have resented, conscious as she was oi not deserving them. And indeed Susan entered at that moment. a little white tray in her hands, and her eyes full 3“ sleep. “ Thank-you, Susan," said Miss Ludlow gently. “ I am sorry you have been kept up so late. I think you may go to bed now. Good night. We shall not want you any more.” “ Good night, miss.” Susan was already half-way up the first flight of stairs when Ada begged her cousin to cull her back. All their walks and talks together, the pres once 01 illness in the house. her mother's pa- thetic eagerness that they should be friends - none of these had brought them any closer together since the day of their first long chat in Miss Lualow’e bed room, where Bee had felt the opening of a. fatal “ littierift" between them that had gone on w1dening ever since. Msry Throgmorton was radiant with de- light, Her cnerished plan seemed to be quietly werking itself out, and sooner than she had dared to hope for. Ads and Georgr were going to be friends, that was quite clear. It was really pretty to see how Ada was learn ing to depend upon and look up to the Doctor. If only 4369 would share a little in her mother’s enthusiasm, that kindly woman thonght, nothing would be wanting to com- plete her happiness. Bun Bee dxd not find this easy. She had meant, she was quite sure, to be nice to Ada Ludluw; and sumenmes she found hersell wondering whuther it was altogether her own fault, that. she had not succeeded. “ Susan.” she said then. “ If my mother should require help again during the nightâ€" I hope she will not. but it is as well to be pre- paredâ€"would you be afraid to go for the doc- tor ?” Doctor March still found it necessary to pay a. daily visit to his patient, so that there were many pleasant meetings for them all in the invahd’s little drawmg room~for all ex- cept Lucy, who might have been away in her convent with the kind simple nuns, so littl was seen or heard of her by Mrs. Ludlow’e ilitots. “ And could you find your way to his house Y He lives in Beaudesert Gardens. In what part of the town is that ?" Suahn explained that she knew the squ re vary wall, having lived for a. year with a. lady in Queen’g Crescent. “It is a. shame to puzzie you, you little goose I” exclaimed Miss Ludlow, kissing her cousin on the forehead and breaking into a light laugh. “ And I am only talking non- sense ! I am so reheved to know that mamma is better 1” CHAPTER XII. Before many days Mrs. Ludlow was able to be down stairs, and to lie on her sofa. again. talking to her friend Mary, who came every morningâ€"the carriage laden with game and jelly and grapesâ€"to sit. with her, while Bee Look Ads. for a drive or a walk. “ The prize 7 I am awfully stupid,” faltersd Luci. Susan declared stoutly that she would not. be afraid. “VAnd Queen’s Crescent is near Benudesert Gardens ‘2” “ Yes. mlss ; its one of them streets as runs out of the square.” “ I see. But I hope I shall not have to call you up at all. Good night again." " Well. you have seen Doctor March at last I " said Lucy. as the cousins prepared to go up stun”. “ Is he like what you expected him to be ‘2" " I am afraid I had not formed any precise idea of what. I expected him to be.” returned Ada rather wearnly. ‘- He lookalike a gentle- man. and is decidedly plain. " Are you dia- tfzppointed ?”-â€"smilmg at Lucy’s change of use. ” Only what '1’" “ I was thinking that perhaps that is the reason why Bee Throgmorton and he had never fallen in love.” “ Was that. absolutely necessary ‘2" "I suppose not necessary; but it would have been so nice. They are all very fond of him you any, Ada. andâ€"” “ Perhaps he has never thought about it. Perhaps it would be a kindly not on the part of some discreet friend to open his eyes to the golden opportunity he is letting slip. Such a one would really deserve the thanks of all the marriageable maidens in Barlaston.” “ 011, why 2’” asked Lucy. puzzled “ Why ? Would not the great prize be once more open to competition if Bee 'I‘hrogmorton married the Doctor 2" “ No, no. of course not,” Lucy answerud. oolorfiug. “ What can It matier so me? Only “ You ferget Mr. Ackroyd,” Miss Ludlow said, w1th a smile. “ Have 1103 I told you that Bee {3 to marry him '2" “ Whether she cnvres for him or not ?" cried Lucy) horror-stricken. "Oh, no doubt she does, or will care for him 1 And money is not; to be despised not- side pf a convent, mademoiselle La nonne’ttc I” “ But. Bee will have money of her own,” persisted Lucy wistfully. “ What does she want with any more ? And doctors often be- come rich.” A slight swift change crossed Miss Ludlow’s calm face â€"a change that disappeared as swift}; as it came: “ Yes,” she said thoughtfully. ” I suppose Bee will have qulte a. dot. She would be a. very nice ma‘ch for Doctor March, I should say. And her sisterly regard for him is really of the warmest order.” . “ Then you think he does not care for her A GREAT MISTAKE. She looked round the quiet square once more. Not a. sound disturbed its old world stillness. “ Bee," she began again, “I am ashamed to confess it, bus the walk has really knocked me up. Please don’t say ‘I told you so I’ “ Very important,”â€"sighing. “ However. it is of no use thinking of it now. I must only come again some other day. I certainly thought I had put the advertisement In my purse‘; but I suppose I must have left it on the dressing table." “ How very provoking!” she cried. “ There is Queen’s Crescent, sure enough, but I have 105: the address. I cannot remember the number and after bringing you all this dreary walk! Bee, I am so very sorry.” “ That does not matter in the least, ” re- turned Bee, her brown eyes going back wiat fully to the ivied walls of No 9. " But I am sorry too, if your business was important.” Bee had naturally been in Doctor March’s house many times with Mrs. Throgmorton. She had called there during her rides with Jack and Ted to leave a message or a note ; she had even made tee once or twice for George and her mother in the young man’s sanctum; and her bright face had always been hailed with satisfaction by Mrs. Batters, the Doctor‘s housekeeper. Why did the old house seem so changed to her now? What had happened between those daysâ€"which were only last month, last weekâ€"and today that she could not look at the deer dingy old square through which she had carelessly passed a hundred times without feeling these hot miserable tears in her eyes? A subdued exclamation of annoyance from Miss Ludlow :reminded her that. she was not alone. Ada. was searching her pocket and her purse, and looking greatly distressed. The houses in Beaudesert Gardens were large substantial old dwellings of red brick. lhe warm tints of which had been agreeably mellowed by wind and weather into a sober russet. Their dark twinkling windows looked down upon the railed in square of glass and l1lac bushes and smoky trees from which the place derived its name, and on the rustic benches and tr1mly kept walks, which were deserted that bright morning, save by an old gardener with a wheelbarrow, who was pottering about among the bare brown beds. It was not a. romantic spot certainly; but to the two dark eyes that saw it Just then througha sudden treacherous mist thought it was more interesting than any Venetian canal orAlpine pass, common place and antiquated though it might be. The young ladies crossed over safely and kept on their way. past. many dull and pen derous rows of houses With wire blinds and gloomy curtains in the windows â€"houses in the smoke blackened fronts of which not a. face or a flower was to be seen «past a nut sery the beds and greenhouses of which were almost; bare of bloom, and so at last into the old fashioned square called Beaudesert Gar dens. “ What an odd old place I” said Miss Lud- low, looking about her. “ Can you fancy any one livmg here all their life ? What must. it be like 2 I am sure I should go melancholy mad l" has forgotten it, which is more than prob- able.” “ Yes. I know.” Bee colored again. “ They arejlose togethqr. Mind that cab." “ Ada. I call that shabby of you I” cried Mrs. Throgmorton-Bee had turned away, and was buttoning and unbuttoning one of her gloves. “ I am sure George never forgets any of your commisslops, my love l” “ It certainly is not a. picturesque neigh- borhood for a. walk,” said Miss Ludlow, breaking in upon her campenion’s uncomfort~ able musings with a light laugh and a little shrug of the shoulders. The road was be ginning now to change into a street. The modest semi-detached villas gave way by de~ gree to shops and an Occasional public house; the detached thoroughfares became busier, the traflio noisier. “ Where do the nice peo ple live in Berlaston. Bee T I mean"â€" prettily - “ those who do not live in Upper Brunswick street ?” Bee did not answer. They were passing the gates of St. Chad’s now. where was a black board posted with a notice of a charity sermon on the following Sunday. " We must cross here." she said, pausing. “ Thisis the way to Besudesert Garden." “ But it is Queen’s Crescent I am looking for.” Miss Ludlow explained a little anx- iously. “ 0h. Doctor March is only too kind 1” Ads. said, smiling premily. “ But remember how much he has to think of. Now, Bee it you are ready 0h l” She paused. looking with gentle concern at the girl. " I “link it is I who mush take care of Bee to-day, dear Mrs. Throgmorton. What has become of that glorious color I have so often envied her 7 She is really not. looking at all well." “ 0h. do come along, Ada!” she added im~ patiently. “ What is the use of these per- petual diacmzaious about my unfortunate cheeks 7" Then, remembering her good resolutions, the girl checked herself, and broke into a. repentant smile. ” I am only crow,” she said; “ the fresh air will blow my bad temper away.” The color came rushing back now to Bee's pale face, while she protested, as she had protested a few days before to Doctor March. that she was perfectly wellâ€"had never been better in her life. As they were evening the door. Bee saw the flutter of a. gray gown disappearing down the garden steps at the other end of the little ball. “ Is that your cousin 7” she asked. suddenly reminded of poor Lucy's exmtence, which every one seemed to have forgotten. “ How l8 it, we never see her, Ada 7 Muam’t she be awful 1011er left so much to herself?” “ One would think an indeed.” assented Ada gently. “ But all my persuasions h-Lve failed to induce Lucy to come down and make fneuda until you. You know she has only just left school. I hupe that by degrees she will gain more oonfi ience.” Miss Ludlow answered only with a charm- ing smile; and the two girls kept on their way for some minutes in silence. Bee’s thoughts had gone backâ€"she did not know whyâ€"«to Lucy Thrale ; and a pang smote her as she remembered how the child had fled before them, like a. llttle Cinderella from the presence of the haughty sisters. “ Lucy 7 Lucy is the dearest litmle oddity in the world! I am sure you will like her, Bee, when you really know her. It. is a pity Lhat dear mamma is a little prejudiced agains‘ her; but that feeling will, I trust soon wear away.” ” Which'ie the way to the, park 2" she asked. “ Shall we pass Queen's Crescent 1) our ymy f" “ Mind 1 Not a bit. But we had better have kept the pony carriage. It is not at all an interesting walk. and I am afraid you will find it rather along way.” “ Well, we can but turn back.” For some minutes their way lay along King’s Road, which was thronged, as usual, with perambulators moving countrywards 1!] the early sunshine. Bee’s listless face brightened at sight of the babies and the sweet trotting children with their sturdy legs and fresh morning cheeks. Miss Ludlow was delicately threading her way through the pretty groups, while admiring narsemaids nudged each other into keener appreciation of her perfectly out walking dress. “ Look at that funny little fellow.” Bee said, nodding at one very tiny sailor, who bore the magic name of Sultan in gold letters round his hat. “ Wouldn’t you like to smack him soundly â€"â€"he is so provokingly fat â€"and than kiss him to make it well.” Outside the green gate Miss Ludlow paused, looking. in apparent. indecision, up and down the spgshhx suburban road. , “ Queen’s Crescent?" Bee colored without. any apparent reason. “ No ; it is in quite an opposite direction. Why f” “ Would you mind 7” Ada said, healtating. ‘ I have a little bit of buelnele toattend to in Queen’s Crescent. It is a. great secret, some thing I don’t want to trouble memma about ; and, if you would really not mind walking there instead of to the park -â€"-â€"â€"” “ Is she nice ?" Bea asked again bluntly. “ Dayan get‘on well together ?” He advanced with alacrity to shake hands with the young ladies It turned out that he had indeed forgotten Miss Ludlow's book, and some playful reproachea and excuses ensued. Bee felt a little forlorn. Not long ago, she The girls found a cheerful group awaiting them in the little drawing room, the invalid setting up among her large chintz pillows eating jelly, Mrs. Throgmorton and her pink and white knitting in an easy chair by her side, and Doctor March standing with his back to the fire, laughing over a story some one had been telling. But a. momem later she found herself wondering how Mrs. Lndlow could hear of the matter except from Ada. or herself, and why,ii Ada was so convinced of her discretion, she had spoken of the matter at all. “ My dear Bee,” she protested, laughing, “ I hope I look as shocked as I feel. But of course you are joking. No. After all, I could have taken no decided step without ob- taining dear mamma' s consent. I merely in- tended to feel my way this morning , and, so long as my poor darling does not hear of my plan, there is no harm done. I know how utterly it would_upset_her.” “ I won’t tell her where we have been, if you mean that,” said Bee bluntly. Ada looked at her in mild surprise. “ I did not suppose for one moment that you would interfere in another person’s bus- iness,” she returned calmly; and Bee. drawing up her throat, felt that after that remark she would rather be chopped in pieces than men tier: one word about their walk. “ Ada, if you likeâ€"it would save you the bother of another walk-we can go across the square and ask Mrs. Batters, Doctor March’s housekeeper I mean, to let us look at to-day’s papers." - Miss Ludlow turned round, displaying a face full of comic horror. all 1” “ That was your business ?” Bee said slow 1y. A queer look had come into the girl's eyes. “ Unfortunately. yes.” There was a pause. Bee walked on, frown- ing her puzzled frown, for a few steps ; than she stopped abruptly, and said. with an evi- denthtegminmrien toA speak pleaaemlyâ€" “ Come let us tear ourselves from these in. vex-eating snlitudes !" whispered Ada, gaily. “HWe had better have gone to the park afber And just. then the old gardener came up the walk With his spade, and his Wheelbarrow full of leaves and twigs, and informed the young ladies, touching his hat that he was about. to leave the square and to look the gate behind him. “ Yes; it has been a walk certainly. And in my heart of hearts I am not sorry to have lost that advertisement. I am afraid my pride is not broken, as people say, enough. Poor dear mamma. If she knew that I had come out with the intention of answering an advertisement for a visiting governessâ€"â€"" “ It has been a walk at any rate," 52; id Bee. Do you think we might sit down in the gar- dens a few minutes I" “ I don’t think the gates are open.” With the words a. recollection flashed across Bee a mind of George’ 5 having once locked her into the square as a punishment for some worse piece of impertinence than usual She remembered how she had lost her temper when he would not let her out, and how he scolded her and brought her a. few days after- wards the pretty gold key she often wore on a velvet bend round her throat. Miss Lndlow. w1th her usual forbearance, took no notice of Bee‘s ill temper. buc went on to ask many smiling questions about the rents of the houses in Beaudesert Gardens, the position and probable moome of Doctor Marco’s neighbors in the square. with other elmilar inquiries, most of which Bee was un- able to answer. _ “ ’1 doh’t. know,” Bee answured wearily. “ I dare say mamma can tell you anything you wish to know about it.” “ I brlieve, when he first came to Barlaston he expected his step mother to live with hun. and E119 has g large fqmilyQ’ " But surely not duoehdent on our poor Doctor 7” asked Miss Ludlow, with ready symga'tghyjq her (age and voice. _ Miss Ludlow had meanwhile crossed the road and tried the nlerest gate. It yielded to her hand, and the young ladies found themselves within the railings and the leafless lilac bushes, with several wooden benches at theirjisposal. “ Which are you tryin to read ‘2" cried Miss Ludlow, leaning forward so as to look into her companion’s face. “ The corner one 7 Let me see want I can make of it. It is brilliantly clear, and has an air of old fashioned comfort. But there are no lace curtains on the drawing room windows, and no flowers in the window boxes. No woman rules within those ivied wells, my dear Bee She would not allow that incessant barking of dogs. or consent to the grooms keeping so many pigeons. The corner house,“ decided Miss Ludlow, geyly, “ belongs to a well to do widower of a slightly sporting turn. What do you say, Bee ?” fl “ How fortunate l” suid Ada, when, hav- ing looked about her for a moment or two, she sank down upon a seat which was almo st oppostte to the tranquil windows of No. 9. Bee could hear the barking of the dogs in the yard. A groom was taking one of the horses out to exercise. “ I suppose we are trespassing, Bee 7 But I feel that Beaude- sert Gardens should be grateful to us for affording it even so small a chance of excite- ment.” “ Nothing.” The girl roused herself with an oflort. “ I know who lives in there, of congse. I thought you did toof’i “ Bee,” Miss Ludlow looked at her with laughing reproachâ€"" what an accomplished hypocrite I must appear in your eyes 1 No doubt he must have given it to us ; but I had forgotten all about it. Did you think I Wanted to take credit for my good guess? For, after all, it is a bachelor’s house; so my penetration was not so very much at. fault.” “ No,” said Bee, briefly. “ I confess myself puzzled, however as to Doctor March's motive in taking such a great. barrack of a place to live in all by himself. What induced him to do so ?” Bee did not answer. She had put her hand up to the ribbon round her throat, and found that she had that morning tied on her golden key. The girl was thinking sadly that when she went home she would take it off and put it away out of sight. There was no reason for d1 ng so any more then there was a reason for tg tears that had sprung to her eyes a. moment before ; but everything seemed to be changing. and her key belonged to the old happy days and not to these, in which she could not help feeling so heavy hearted and ashamed. ”Don’t say it is not a widower I“ cried Miss Ludlow. olaspiuq her hands in a. gentle burlesque of anxiety. “ It is Doctor March’s house”â€"â€"abruptly. “ Doctor March’s ?"â€"with a little air of disappointment. “ And I thought 1 had made such a good guess I And so that is where our good Doctor resides? Why did you not tell me before? I am always inter- ested in every little particular about my friends.” “ Did you ever try to read the physiog. nemy of houses ?” Miss Ludlow was going on lightly. “ Don’t you think they always ex- press the character of the people who live in them ‘E Now look at that one thereâ€"no, not the corner one with the ivy ; I mean the third to the right. Do you ever see anything so appalling as those bead fly catchers, or whatever the abominations are called ?” “ Never," murmured Bee absently. “ 'l‘hat house is occupied by a gaunt and forbidding maiden lady. I am sure. Behind the rigid folds of those drab moreen curtains, could we but peep, we should discover an obese poodle lapping cream out of a chine saucer, and possibly a rampant cockatoo in a gilded cage. Their mistress made tho as head norrors in her youth. and still believes in them as matchless works of art l” “ I dare say.“ Bee’s eyes were still fixed on the quiet windows of No. 9‘ In the lower ones was visible the cheerful flickering of a fire. “ I thought you knew his address, of course.” “ Mamma is at King’s Road,” returned the girl curtly. “ You will find her there. no doubt. if you make haste. You are going to see Mn. Ludlow, of course." “ There it is, than," said the young lady, laughing and reddening as she made a gamin like grimace M the Doctor. But asill her dark eyes did not meet his frankly ; and she stood absently beating the skirt of her habit with her whip. and forgetting to ask George into the house. “ Well, miss, where are your manners ?”he inquired loftily. “ Am I to pay you a. morn- ing ggll on the stage P” " Bee. you are positively in a bad temper. What 18 the matter with you, child? I have a good mind to make you put out your tonglge l” 7 7 “ Well, it was,” George admitted, trying to speak lightly ; “ but, now that I see the storm signals flashing, I have changed my mind. You have been riding alone 1’" “Yes; itis a relief sometimes. My horse does_not speak about; thequdlows.” For, as Bee‘s languid eyes fell upon him, the treacherous blood began to mount into her pale cheeks; and he saw, as he help ed her to dismount, that her glance avoided his “ Momma is out,” she said. as the groom took the horses round to the stable. “ I sup- pose this unexpected honor was hardly in- tended for me?” George wailed to lilt; her from her horse, beginning to feel exceedingly uncomfortable “8MB: V“ There is something the matter with the child.” he jhopght miserably. At that moment he saw Miss Throgmorton riding slowly down the street, followed by her groom, and he was struck will the undeni- able change in the girl’s looks, Her straight young shape was drooping, the reins hung listlessly in her fingers, all her bright bru- netfie bloom had disappeared. “ Perhaps it is as well,” he thought ; and, as he went down the steps, he sighed with a greater feelmg of relief than should have be- longed to the conviction that he had mis- judged his old friend Bee.’ “ I will go about my business, and let the poor girl alone. What right have I, after all, to he prying into her harmless secrets ‘2” When Doctor March awoke next morning, he tried to laugh away his disagreeable imt pressions about Miss Throgmorton ; but he found they were not so easily disposed of ; and towards the middle of the day a sort of reluctant fascination drew him toward Upper Brunswmk street, resolved to see her again and convince himself that he had been mis- taken. He had timed his visit ill, it seemed, for the old butler told him that the ladies were out. “ I never dream: of this," he though‘ mie- erably. " And the idea seems simply preposv herons; but The other night too, when I pretended to feel her ‘puleeâ€" And her manner has changed so much of late ; and â€" good Heaven”â€"the young man eat up and denly, tearing open his coat and pulling off his gloves with a. sensation of oppressionâ€" “ it. can’t be me that the poor child cares forl” Georgie broke into a maulâ€"whistle, and took his hands out of his pockets to rub them irri tably_ over his head. ” What the deuce is the matter with my dear old Bee T” the young man growled in- wardly, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets and knitting his brows in a tremen dons frown. “ Why should she have blushed and looked so terribly confused beoause she had chosen to show Miss Lualow my house? And why did she avoid my eye ?" In the meanwhile Doctor March, having shut himself with an ominous bang into his carriage, was driving away towards town in a most uncomfortable frame 01 mind. In vain did he try to concentrate his thoughts on a brilliant article in the Medical Review he was reading; they would return. with irritating persistence, to the little scene in Mrs. Lud- low’s front drawing- room, and themagazine was flung aside. “ I don't mean that ; you know very well I don‘t 1" ‘Bee retorted, a sudden flame of anger lighting up her heavy eyes. “ Why did you say that about â€"Beaudesert Gardens?” Ada’s face fell. “ My dear Bee.” she whispered kindly, “I had no idea, that it would annoy you. You know I had a. reasonâ€"an innocent one enoughâ€"for not telimg momma. that the walk was my choice: but I thought it could not possibly matter to you. I am so very sorry!" was thinking bitterly, his first look and word Without another word she went into the would have been for her. hall, where old Jenner was holding the door “ What is the matter with my little enemy?” ‘ open, and marched straight up stairs, leaving asked the Doctor presently in that brotherly Doctor March in the street, at perfect liberty tone he was accustomed to adopt towards to pay his professional visit to the Tower Mrs. Throgmorton’s children. “ Have you House a little earlier than he had intended. “ What is the matter with my little enemy?” asked the Doctor presently in that brotherly tone he was accustomed to adopt towards Mrs. Throgmorton’s children. “ Have you been discussing Wagner and Berlioz w1th Miss Ludlow, or have you merely been walk- ing teeter f” No one had time to observe poor Bee’s trouble ; but the pleasure of the little meet ing was changed into pain. Each member of the party felt the chill creeping of some new constraint, though perhaps only two could account for it ; and at last Doctor March, unable to stand it any longer, started up, re memberng an urgent call, and took his leave, having hardly dared to looked at Bee, who still set, silent and miserable, in the sunshiny bay window. “ No.” returned 'Bee abruptly. “ Butâ€"â€" why gid you any that, Ada ?” ‘1 Say 'what, lieu ?'; Ada asked, surprised. “ That your mother’s knitting is in very good taste] _ I ‘assure yquâ€"” â€" Bee [stood up abr'uptly, and walked'awayv to her mother, leavmg Miss Ludlow in the mid- dle: of her apologies. 7‘ Neither one nor the other,” returned Bee Iisflessly as she went and sat down by her mother. Miss Ludlow. looking from his disturbed face to Bee, who was sitting apart in the win dow, downcast and almost sullen, opened her large eyes as it with a slow dawning of com- prehension, and immediately began to make the most graceful small~talk, from which she was careful to exclude Bee. who was :hus af- forded time to recover herself. Her tact seemed admirable in George March’s sight as she went Im chatting easily with Mrs. Throgmorton about her knitting, and about the exhibitions of art needlework at South Kensington, which she felt sure would interest her so much. It may have been a. feeling of pity which caused Miss Ludlow to go over to her and kiss her gently on the forehead, asking whether she felt very tired. It was rude ; but Ada. accepted the situation with perfect good-breeding; and she wished Bee good-bye, when presently Mrs. Throg morton rose to go, with even more than her usual cardinality. “ Did you not get as far as the park then?" Mrs. Throgmorton asked, unrolling her pink wool, and turning her head to kiss her tall girl’s chin. _“ Then I slippage you went into town and looked at the shops, like two foolish chil» dren ?" - “ No,” said Ada guily, before Bee could an- swer; “ I am ashamed to say that. my cour- age tailed me, after all.” The young man hardly knew what he was saying. A swift miserable suspicion had shot through him at sight of Bee‘s contusion ; and he was wildly doing his best to cover her want of self control, than which his own was scarcely less apparent. “ Not quite so bad as that,” protested Ada, who was kneeling by the sofa. and holding her mother’s two pale hands in hers. “I put myself under Bee's directlon altoaether, being a stranger in the land; and she has been pointing out. the beauties of St. Chad‘s and of Beaudesert Gardens to me." “ My dear child," remonstrated her moth- er, laughing, “ what poasessed you to choose thatlmrt offlthg town for a. Walk 7” “ You will like the music at St. Chad’s, Miss Ludlow.” cried Doctor March hurriedly as Bee suddenly rose and went to the win- dowâ€"“ at least, it your taste is at all eclectic. Miss Bee and I squabble about many things ; but our deadliest tights invariably arise after morning service in St. Chad’s." The blood rushed to Bce‘s cheeks; and George March saw it with some surprise. It was not like Bee to be blushing at every little trifle. CHAPTER XIII. “ I thought you had decreed that we were not to remove our masks during this inter view :7” he said good humoredly. Miss Thrale might be, and by all accounts was. a contemp- tible ooquette, a girl on whom no man With a grain oi sense would care to waste a thought ; but. she was undeniably pretty; and George March, who was not altogether so sensible as Thetwung man answered the smile if not the words. “ Then you are ?” cried Lucy. She had not spoken to a soul except Ada and Susan and poor Mrs. Allen since she had come home from her convent ; and she found this little stolen conversation with a kind looking and pleasant. young man decidedly interesting. Susan had come back and had resumed her work, the rhythmical sweep of the broom being distinct ly audible through the doors that divided the IWO rooms. “ Then you are?” she repeated, smiling. George remembered that he had made some such arrangement on the previous day ., an arrangement which Mrs. Throgmorton had since contrived to upset. “ So I must be Mr. Aokroyd 7" he asked gravgly. “ Is Mr. Ackroyd the only tall man in Bar laston Hegis then, Miss Thrale 1'" Lucy laughed. “ You are not young Mr. Throgmorton.” she continued, carrying on the conversation in ignorant defiance of Mrs. Grundy and the proprieties. “ And the Doctor is not coming until the afternoon. That is why aunt Letltia went out for a drive this morning." “ I think you must Be Mr. Ackl‘oyd,” 3110 said, nodding at him; “ because you are so tall.” " Not if I can guess who you are,” replied Lucy, beginning to pull 03 her checked tut- ban, and showing all the pretty waved bronze of her rough hair. “ Do you think you can 7" The girl looked at him as he stood leaning, with his hands behind him, against the table, a little dawning shyness bringing the color to her cheeks and making her blue eyes droop. “ Can you be Miss Thrale 7” asked Doctor March, smiling again at this frank explana tion of affairs, and for the moment altogether forgetting Miss Thrale‘sdangerous reputation. “ Yes.” Lucy’s periwinkle blue eyes twinkled with fun. “ But I am supposed to be in disguise just now. You ought to pre- tend that you don't know who I am.” “ I beg your pardon, really. And am I to remain incognito) as well?” " But I am not fond ofit indeed," protested the girl, shaking her head. " It is better than sewing, though, for a. change. I have been sitting at the machine all the morning ; so I promised Susan I would go on with the drawing room while she ran and got me some more silk." “ You seem to be fond of sweeping," the Doctor, said. as he followed her into the sun- shiny garden room. the windows of which were thrown open to the sweet sharp air. “ I heard you singing over the work as I came in.” “ A book ? You must give it to me in the corner of my apron. That is what Susan does with cards and notes when her flag 618 are black. Oh, but I forgot! The back drawing room is not dusty. Please come in there.” “ I have a book for Miss Ludlow," said be, when they were in the hall. admiring as he, spoke the sweet face, from whose charm the smudge did not detract in the sleast in his mind any more than the shabby brown frock and coarse apron could hide the enchanting outlines of the girl’s budding figure. At this sound the girl stopped sweeping and turned around, displaying a charming flushed face with a. smudge on it. Without the least embarrassment she looked straight into the keen dark eyes that were fixed so admiringly on her. her little frown of in- quiry not disappearing or giving place to any flutter of self-consciousness or gratified vanity. “You want to see aunt Letitia 7” she said. resting both hands on the top of her broomatiok and her chin on her hands. “She is out driving wizh Mrs. Throgmorton. So is Ada." “ I found the door open," explained George smiling. Lucy smiled back at him. “ Susan is out, too,” she said. “I am afraid it is very dusty in here. ‘I will come into the hall ” She put down her broom ; and Doctor March held the door open for the pretty little Cinderella, who retained her hideous turban and the smudge on her face with unruffled serenity. The room was in utter confusion, of course â€"chairs piled one upon another, oouche s dragged out of their places, lace curtains pinned up out of the dust ; and in the middle of this chaos, with her back to the Doctor, stood a slim maiden shape in a brown dress, whose head was bound turban wise with a.” blue checked apron, from under which homely head dress her long bronze brown hair fell in a rough braid that curled at the ends in link: rings and tendrils. The wearer of the turban was grasping the broom in her two am all hands, and apparent-- 1y giving her whole soul to the work ; con sequentlv she did not hear the opening of the doom George looked on in considerable amuse- ment for a moment or two, until, finding that in all probability he would have to wait until the whole process was complete, he announced himself, no more original method occurring to him, by a very elaborate and unnatural “ Ahem l‘ ’ He went on his way moodily enough through the crisp and cold November sun- shine that was glorifying the bare branches overhead and turning their fallen leaves to gold beneath his feet. The fine weather had somewhat lost. its charm. “ Went up the hill” â€"nnother tremendous sweep on the ” hill”â€" “ To fetch a pail of water.” Mrs. Ackroyd’s model pupil Susan was an admirable girl, no doubt ; but George doubted some that she was capable of imparting such a. charm to the singing of a nursery rhyme ; and, without more ado, he put his head in to look at the sweeper. " It will blow over.” he said to himself, with a dacided absence of conviction. “ The dear foolish girl! She is only a little bit jealous, like all the others, of these strangers that have come amongst us. I wish with my whole heart they were back in London, if they are going to set us all by the ears l" He could see another open door at the end of the hall. which gave him a glimpse at the sunny back garden. The house was apparent- ly deserted. “ The ladies are out,” he decided; “ and Susan is naturally seizing the opportunity to compare notes with Susan next. door. I will just lay my book on the drawing room table and take myself off.” At the drawing room door however a pleas- ant sound fell on his ear, and proved that somebody was at home, if in were only Susan â€"the sound of a. girl’s voice singing aloud cheerfully in time to the smart whisk to and fro of a. broom noon the carpet. And what a. sweet voice she had I As the young man opened the door, he could hear it better, and the words of her songâ€" George broke into an uneasy lifiéfifignd turned on his heel. The hall door of the semi-detached villa was standing Wide open, and no notice was taken of the Doctor’s knock, even when he repeated it somewhat impatiently, not being used to being kept waiting. Susan. instead of being engaged in gossip‘ as the Doctor had injuriously supposed, was evidently taking advantage of her mistress’s absence to give the drawing-room a good “ clean.” “ Jack and Jill" 'with a. tremendous sweep upon the .l Jack”â€" The booli was a copy of the poems of Sully Prudhomme, which Miss Ludlow had expres Bed a desire to read “ Aha, my poor gray gown 1” she said. nodding down at the skimpy sleeves above “ To-morrow 1" she thought eagerly. “ If I have time, I will set about it to morrow. I must work hard and get Ada’s polonaise finished this evening ; and to mortoWâ€"” Down she sat. Egain, and went on with her stitching, her blue eyes full of happy dreams. Skis walkâ€"ed about the little room for a few moments. beating her hands together and lauglyng softly :70 herself. “ I know something ! I know a. way to earn money!" she cried aloud to the daisies on the wall paper, her face flushing and her blue eyes blazing with excitement. “ Oh, What a lucky thought I" The sewing machine came to a sudden stand still, and Lucy sprang up, clapping her hands and jumping around me room like a mad thing. ‘- Of what. use would all the new gowns in the World be to me,” she thought, shaking her chestnut head, “ if I had to go away to be called ‘Miss Thrale,’ and to be hated by the poor children because I was ‘ the gover- ness’? I would rather stay at home and cobble my shoes for ever! It always makes me sorrowful to read abou‘ the poor Brontes, and how they suflered. Oh I” And Misti Ludlow could not but avoida subject which appeared distasteful to her cousin. But little [boots and shoes, or even the cheapest of little brown or slate color gloves. did not grow on the bushes in Lucy’s dear old back garden ; nor did they come up among the bulbs and roots she was nursing in the old tool house against the spring. And she was determined not to ask Ada. for money until she was absolutely compelled, lest there should be any more talk of her going away. But Lucy‘s representations as to the state of her wardrobe had not been strictly founded on fact ; and she was beginning at last to feel a. little puzzled as to the best means ofcover- ing its deficiency. Her black silk gown indeed a well worn garment which had been made during her one happy year at Prince’s Grateâ€"was still in a sufficient state of preservation for Lucy to wear on Sunday mornings at V St. Mark’s â€"the old church in the shadow of which the villa stood â€"a.nd, being respectfully removed on her return, it bade fair to last the season through. , “ Borrow ? Nonsense !" cried Lucy gaily, her charming face glowing like a rose above her shapely gray gown. “ Do you suppose aunt. Lentia can find a great hungry thing like me in bread ‘ and butter in these hard times 7 The money is yours, Ada ; so please aon’t any any more about it.” “ Whun you put in in that way,” she said, half vexed “ I have not a word to say. Indeed, as you know the money comes so pallicularly a propos just now that it would be afiecmlion on my part to persist in refusing it. And so, if you have really no Immediate use for it, dear, I will consent to borrow it for a. litnle while.” Ada. sighed ana laughed, and returned the qhild’g eager embrace. " Then you don’t love me," pleaded Lucy, putting her two pretty arms around Miss Ludlow’s neck and squeezing her in a chdd- ish hug; “ and you don’t care to save aunt Latina from being worried." “ Indeed yes. But in the meanwhile”â€" Miss Ludlow laid a. caressing hand on the girl’s shoulderâ€"~“ we must see about making my tall little Lucy pretty for the Winter. You nave your own little fortune, you know, dear; there is no need to worry you with our trou- bles ; and I am very glad that it is so.” Lucy’s eyes filled with sudden tears. “ Indeed," she protested earnestly, “ your troubles are my troubles, Ada! And I want nothing at all. My black silk gown is just as good as new,” “ But you are outgrowing your gray one.” “ Oh, I will let it down I And you know, dear, what you were speaking about at break fast. and how aunt Letitia. cried. It is very bid for her to be worried ; and I want you to take this money. I should not know what to do with it 1" “ But. you will try to keep toéetfler ?” Lucy urged, still very pale from the fright she had received. “ You would not liketo leave us then?” she asked. “ I do not say that we shall be com: pelled to take such a step. Many things may happen of course to prevent, or at any rate to delay 11; ; but it is as well to be prepared.” “ I do not know how it is,” she said sadly ; “ but it. certainly does cost more than I sup- posed ‘0 live in Barlaston. Indeed I begin l0 feel, dear Lucy, that. we shall not be able to stay here much longer. The house, small as it is, is too expensive, I am afraid; and I shall have to contrive some means of earning money." “ And go out as governesses. 9" Lucy’s blue eyes were full of emploring terror. The thought of goi'ng away alone, among stran gers, nearly made her heart stand still. 7 Ads smiled affectionately at the startled facel_andtou_c]1ed ipyith yer lips. _ “No; I am afraid that I must not: hear any more," said George, laughing, “ I am not. the tallest man in Barlaston, Miss l‘hrale; and you will be kind enough to tell your aunt from me that she had no business at all to go out to-day without; my permission.” “Then you are Doctor March!” said Lucy, startled. “And I have been talk- ing to you whileâ€"” The laughter died out of her eyes, her face fell. “ My aunt will be sorry to have missed you," she added, with extreme politeness, making him a. very ceremonious little bow. “ I will give $he book to my cousin as soon as she comes in. Good morning.” “ You mean by teaching ‘2” Lucy asked eagerly. "I could teach too, if it were only beginners, Ada! Don‘t you think Mrs. Throgmorton could get us a few pupils, and Ada. shook her head gently. ”Not at Bm‘laston. It would kill mam ma!” she said. ” We must not dream of doing such 9. thing ! No; if the worst, comes to the worst, I suppose we shall have to separate.” “ You foolish child I” returned her cousin tendgrly. " Of course I cannot take it I” to remain unmoved in the presence of a charming woman, and who happened to have an idle half-hour on his hands, was in no par- ticular hurry to finish the conversation. " Ada has often spoken of you, Mr. Ack- royd,” continued Lucy with shy warmth, de- ciding within herself that this plain. dark‘ strong looking man was quite woxtby of pretty Bee Throgmorton. “ She says thatâ€"” “ Horrible man 1” Lucy Thrale was saying on the other side of the hall dear; and she actually stamped her foot as she Spoke. “ Why could he not tell me who he was at once ? And what does he mean by saying he Wlll come in the afternoon, and then chang- ing his mind ? I don‘t see why I need care however l” With an impatient sigh the girl began to ascend the stairs. “ I don‘t suppose I shall ever see him again ; and I am sure it will be no great loss 1" The little bedroom under the roof was in a litter of dressmaking. The days were over when Lucy had sighed for something to occupy her time; and now it was often difficult to snatch an hour for her lonely walks along King’s Road, where she used to gaze wwtfully into the windows of the invalid state entailed on the little household. Ada. had done her best an the time to soothe and cheer her mother, though she admittgd later, in a. confidential chat: with Lucy, that there was some cause for uneasiness. Before the astonished young man could protest, he found himself in the hall, and outside the door, which was mildly but firmly shut in hm face. " Cool, by Jove l” he thought, bursting into a. half vexed laugh and making as dig- nified an exit as circumstances would permit. “ So that is Lucy Thrule 1 Well, she is charming enough really to prove an excuse for a good deal of lolly in a man. Lord Meldrum had excellent taste. If I had been Lord Somebody now, I suppose she would ‘not have turned. me out! However, I was certainly in the way ; so I won't hear malice. And so that is Lucy Thrale 1 By the way, how comes it that I have never met her be- fore ? Where do they hide her, I wonder, all day long 7" â€"-Alexander Dumas rises at six, and immo diately proceeds to warms. plate of soup which has been prepared the night before, and consume the same. On the strength of his soup he works until noon, when he break- fasts. He composes all these hours. and seldom reads. French literatureâ€"at least the gay pan of it ~he knows by heart. With other languages, including English, his so- qusintanee is very slight. 3‘ What shall I talk about then I" {ah manded the lad, after a. scarcely perceptib pauseâ€"and there was a hint of mortifioation in his voice. “ We luckless Barlaston peo- ple are all ‘a. shade uninteresting,’ I am afraid." ‘ “ I‘do ndt call that at all afiaéing,;;jshg declared “BMW “ One is so tired of hear. ing {ugh thirngs.”fi An indistinbt baritone murmur followed this speech, and Mugs Ludlqu laughed again “ Do have some more tea and consider yourself forgiven,” interrupted Mia! Ludlow with a light laugh. “ Your big ‘ Ted’ is just a shade uninteresting, though I know it is rank heresy to hint at such a. thing. But isn’t he now ‘2 I confess to liking a man to he spiritual above everything else. Any one can become rich nowadays, but so few people talk Well.” A gentle little twinkling ol chin and silver and then the young lady continued. “ Pray do amuse me alittle Mr. Throgmorton. I have been so dull all day; but I felt aura somehow that you would come in. and I have been looking forward to our usual little chat with so much pleasure.” “ Stupid I" cried Jack reproachfully. “ How could any house be. stupid thatyou lived in 7” “Very pretty â€"â€"for Barlaston," returned the young lady, with an arch little inflection. “ And} shéuld not. have asked Ted of any- body else, Miss Ludlow, only that you said Lucy did not answar; sue: little speeches were only too common, and she had found thauit was best and kindest not to attem t “y {913151 “ I w-anted ‘l‘ed Aekroyd to come “inr Q}; me," Jack was saying ; “but he was not to be induced, and I’m sure the loss was his ” “ My poor girl l" said the widow. “I nev- er thought the day would come when she would have to wear turned dresses.” Lucy colored. "But it is not her fault at any rate ; and no one can say that she deserved the mis- fortunes that have befallen her." ‘7 Wblild you like me to read to yo 01: auntie?” she asked pleasantly though with a. suspicious tremble i_n her voice. But now it. was the widow’s turn to be silent; and then in the hush that fell upon the room, some sentences from the tea-table talk beyond the curtains reached Lucy’s ears. ,‘ But another time,” returned Ada‘a silvery voice, “you must not try to 'induoe’ gentle- men to come in. Of course we are pleased to see any friend of yours. but we are such a. stupid little party thatâ€"â€"-" “I have nearly finished Ada’s polonaiae, aunt Letitia," she was saying. “ I think it will look very pretty." Mm Ludlow sighed. " At least it will on her," continued the child, with acoaxing little air. “ Ada looks pretty in everything." , One side of the heavy curtains was looped hack. thus lending the sanction of the widow’s presence to the tote a-tete in the back, draw- ing room ; but Jack was speaking now in a much lower voice. and Ada's replies were almost inaudible Lucy did noi want tolisten. of course; but. she could not help thinking that she would like to be there too. “ Would you like me to light the lamp ?" Lucy said, preparing to disappear ; but Miss Ludlow said it was a pity to shut out the glimpse of the garden, and decided for the firefight. Susan carried in Lucy’s cup of tea with Mrs. Ludlow’a and the young lady drank it .41“ng by her aunt’s side in the little from room. The whole aspect of the room struck Lucy afresh now. as she finished the arrangement of her table and prepared to carry nwgy the basket and the loose leuves and stalks left in it. Then her cousin came through the curiains; a delicate small figure in a. pale blue gown. with crimson roses in her belt, and declared that they were quite ready for teat “ What taste Ada has ?” she thought. ‘ How pretty and home like it looks l" The whole room was much altered in its appearance since the day when Bee Thro - morton had done her simple best to beauti ' it for its new occupants. The fruits of Misl Ludlow’s unwearying industry were every- where to be seen in embroidered chairs and lace trimmed tables, in artistic curtains and portieres and draperies, which completely transformed the modest back drawing room. giving it quite an unusual appearance to Bar- laston eyes. A good deal of charming brie-a- brac too, which had appeared after the un- packing of Miss Ludlow’s trunks, was skilful- ly disposed about the shelves, and hung on the walls against a background of dark velvet niches and medallions. The very Sevres ten. cups, With their delicate raised flowers, out of which Jack Throgmorton so often drank his tea, were relics of tee old Prince’s Gate days. Miss Ludlow inspected the work and be- stowed some words of commendation on the eageg young dressmaker. J wk Throgmorton was sitting by Mrs. Ludlow’a sofa. in the small front drawing room ; the boylsh tones of his voice and his ready laughter reached Lucy through the cur- tains. as she deftly arranged the tiny tea. table, which was drawn up to the fireplace near her cousin’s easy chair. A quantity of fresh cut flowers lay in a basket, ready to be transferred to the great china. bowl which monopolized the center of the embroidered tea cloth. “ How delicious,” sighed Lucy, burying her face in the cool wet masses of rose? and helio- tropes and pelargoniums. “ They scent the whole room.” Lucy sprang up joyfully and kissed her cousin. ” Whit. extravagance ‘1“ cried Lucy gaily ; and the cousins went down stairs together. There was to be no walk to Green Knows 1.11M afternoon. But indeed the pretty back drawing room, beyond the deep bay windows of which stretched the garden, still and brown in. the November twilight, was already as warm and fragrant aminy nest. The flickering light of the wood fire playing upon the judinieres showed them to be filled with rare flowering plants, and every available jar and vase was overflowing with the spoils of a hot house. Faster and faster whirred she sewing ma- chine. The seamitl‘ess heard the carriage drive up the gravelled sweep and drive away again; the light began to fade; the room grew chilly ; but no one came to disturb the progress of her work. Then an opening door downstairs sent a" burst of music to her ears. I "Ada is singing!” she said, nodding be! head in time to the bird like trills. “ Young Mr. Throgmorton has come, I suppose." She paused to rub her little red fingersn gather. " The evenings are growing cold. wish I might have the machine down stairs; but I dare say Ade. would not like it, and the noise is a nuisance, of course. Bowâ€"with a sage little pursing of the pretty mouthâ€"” it would never do to have three fires burning I" The singing had ceased. A light step was heard on the stairs. ” You industrious child,” cried Miss Ludlow softly, puIting her flaxen head in at the door. “ Do you think you can find time to give us some ten ?" “I will come down now,” she said. “ Just look how well I am getting on with the polo- naise.’ “ Bfit it. i's too cold up here 1" she added, shiveflng. “ Why don i: you have a fire 7“ her pretty wrists. “ Your nose will soon be out of joint! You are my last relic of the kind old Sacred Heart, and you shall be put away in lavender for ever and a day 1 In real lavender. mind youâ€"not figurativeâ€"great tall gray wands of sweetness out of my gar- den ! What do you think of that ‘7” [To an oommunnJ CHAPTER XIV.