ainly not the latter part, sir," the young man answered. "I thought
perhaps you would have noticed--I meant to speak to you as soon as you
were a little stronger--I have asked Hester to be my wife!"

"Then all I can say," Mannering declared, gravely, "is, that you are a
remarkably sensible young man. I am quite strong enough to bear a shock
of that sort."

"I'm very glad to hear you say so, sir," Richard said. "Of course I
shouldn't think of taking her away until you were quite yourself again."

"The cheek of the young man!" Mannering murmured. "She wouldn't go!"

"I don't believe she would," Richard laughed. "Of course we consider that
you are very nearly well now."

"You can consider what you like," Mannering answered, "but I shall remain
an invalid as long as it pleases me."

Hester appeared on the upper lawn, and Richard rose up at once.

"If you don't mind, sir," he said, "I think that I should like to go and
tell Hester that I have spoken to you."

Mannering nodded. He watched the two young people stroll off together
towards the rose-garden, talking earnestly. He heard the little iron gate
open and close. He watched them disappear behind the hedge of laurels. A
puff of breeze brought the faint odour of roses to him, and with it a
sudden host of memories. His eyes grew wistful. He felt something tugging
at his heartstrings. Only a few years ago life here had seemed so
wonderful a thing--only a few years, but with all the passions and
struggles of a lifetime crowded into them. The maelstrom was there still,
but he himself had crept out of it. What was there left? Peace, haunted
with memories, rest, troubled by desire. He heard the sound of their
voices in the rose-garden, and he turned away with a pain in his heart of
which he was ashamed. These things were for the young! If youth had
passed him by, still there were compensations!

Compensations, aye--but he wanted none of them! He picked up the
newspaper, and with a little difficulty, for his sight was not yet good,
found a certain paragraph. Then the paper slipped again from his fingers,
and he heard the sweeping of a woman's dress across the smooth-shaven
lawn. He gripped the sides of his chair and set his teeth hard. He
struggled to rise, but she moved swiftly up to him with a gesture of
remonstrance.

"Please don't move," she exclaimed, as though her coming were the most
natural thing in the world. "I am going to sit down with you, if I may!"

He mu