tments. The late Baroness had
a pot of money, you know."

"I know there's not much property to go with the title."

"A beggarly five thousand a year. I say, Ormonde, are you disposed for a
good thing? Lend me three thousand on good security? Six per cent., old
man!"

"I am not so disposed, my dear fellow! I have a wife and my boy to think
of now."

"Exactly," returned the other, with a sneer. "You have a new edition of
Colonel Ormonde's precious self."

"Oh, your sneers don't touch me! You always had your humors; still I am
willing to help a kinsman, and I will give you a chance if you like.
What do you say to a rich young wife--none of your crooked sticks?"

"It's an awful remedy for one's financial disease, to mortgage one's
self instead of one's property; still I suppose I'll have to come to it.
Who is the proposed mortgagee?"

"My wife's sister."

"Oh!"

The tone of this "Oh!" was in some unaccountable way offensive to
Colonel Ormonde. "Miss Liddell comes of a very good old county family I
can tell you," he said, quickly; "a branch of the Somerset Liddells; and
when I saw her last she was the making of an uncommon fine woman."

"But your wife was a Mrs. Liddell, was she not?"

"Yes. This girl is her sister-in-law, really, but Mrs. Ormonde looks on
her as a sister."

"Hum! She _has_ the cash? I suppose you know all about it?"

"Well, yes, you may be sure of sixty or seventy thousand, which would
keep you going till Lord de Burgh joins the majority."

"Yes, that might do; so 'trot her out.'"

"She is coming to stay with us in a week or two, before the hunting is
quite over, so you will be down here still."

"I suspect I shall. The lease of the lodge won't be out till next
September, and I may as well stay there as anywhere."

"Katherine Liddell is quite unencumbered; she has neither father nor
mother, nor near relation of any kind; in fact Mrs. Ormonde and myself
are her next friends, and in a few weeks she will be of age."

"All very favorable for her," said De Burgh, in his careless, commanding
way. His tones were deep and harsh, and though unmistakably one of the
"upper ten," there was a degree of roughness in his style, which,
however, did not prevent him from being rather a favorite with women,
who always seemed to find his attentions peculiarly flattering.

"Come," cried Ormonde, "let us push on. I am getting chilled to the
bone, and we are late enough already."

He touched his horse wi