iness, Isabel. She has to bring me messages from her
mother."

"Must the business be kept from me?"

He was silent for a moment, considering whether he might tell her. But
it was impossible he could speak, even to his wife, of the suspicion
they were attaching to Captain Thorn. It would have been unfair and
wrong; neither could he betray that a secret visit was expected from
Richard. To no one in the world could he betray that, however safe and
true.

"It would not make you the happier to know it, Isabel. There is a dark
secret, you are aware, touching the Hare family. It is connected with
that."

She did not put faith in a word of the reply. She believed he could not
tell her because her feelings, as his wife, would be outraged by the
confession; and it goaded her anger into recklessness. Mr. Carlyle,
on his part, never gave a thought to the supposition that she might
be jealous; he had believed that nonsense at an end years ago. He was
perfectly honorable and true; strictly faithful to his wife, giving
her no shadow of cause or reason to be jealous of him; and being a
practical, matter-of-fact man, it did not occur to him that she could be
so.

Lady Isabel was sitting, the following morning, moody and out of sorts.
Captain Levison, who had accompanied Mr. Carlyle in the most friendly
manner possible to the park gate on his departure, and then stolen along
the hedgewalk, had returned to Lady Isabel with the news of an "ardent"
interview with Barbara, who had been watching for his going by at the
gate of the grove. She sat, sullenly digesting the tidings, when a
note was brought in. It proved to be an invitation to dinner for the
following Tuesday, at a Mrs. Jefferson's--for Mr. and Lady Isabel
Carlyle and Miss Carlyle.

"Do you go?" asked Miss Carlyle.

"Yes," replied Isabel. "Mr. Carlyle and I both want a change of some
sort," she added, in a mocking sort of spirit; "it may be well to have
it, if only for an evening."

In truth this unhappy jealousy, this distrust of her husband, appeared
to have altered Lady Isabel's very nature.

"And leave Captain Levison?" returned Miss Carlyle.

Lady Isabel went over to her desk, making no reply.

"What will you do with him, I ask?" persisted Miss Carlyle.

"He can remain here--he can dine by himself. Shall I accept the
invitation for you?"

"No; I shall not go," said Miss Carlyle.

"Then, in that case, there can be no difficulty in regard to Captain
Levison,"