" said Katherine, as she rose to
leave Mr. Newton.

"My dear Miss Liddell, take care how you saddle yourself with the
difficult task of standing _in loco parentis_; leave the very serious
responsibilities of bringing up boys to the mother whose they are. At
your age, and with the almost certainty of forming new ties, such a step
would be very imprudent."

"At all events I shall see how they all get on at Castleford before I
commit myself to anything. You will lose no time, dear Mr. Newton, in
getting this deed ready for my signature. I do not want to say anything
about it till it is 'signed, sealed, and delivered.'"

"It shall be put in hand at once. When shall you be going out of town?"

"Not for ten days or a fortnight."

"The sooner the better. I do not like to see you look so pale and sad.
Excuse me if I presume in saying so. Well, I don't think your uncle ever
did a wiser act than in destroying that will of his before he made
another. The extraordinary instinct he had about money must have warned
him that his precious fortune would be best bestowed on so prudent yet
so generous a young lady as yourself."

"Don't praise me, Mr. Newton," said Katherine, sharply. "Could you see
me as I see myself, you would know how little I deserve it."

"I am sure I should know nothing of the kind," returned the old lawyer,
smiling. Katherine was a prime favorite with him--quite his ideal of a
charming and admirable woman. All he hoped was that when the sharp edge
of her grief had worn off she would mix in society and marry some highly
placed man worthy of her, a Q.C., if one young enough could be found,
who was on the direct road to the woolsack.

The evening of this day Bertie Payne came in, as he often did after
dinner. Katherine was always pleased to see him. He brought a breath of
genial life into the rather glacial atmosphere of Miss Payne's
drawing-room. Yet there was something soothing to Katherine in the
orderly quiet of the house, in the conviction, springing from she knew
not what, that Miss Payne liked her heartily in her steady,
undemonstrative fashion. She never interfered with Katherine in any way;
she was ready to go with her when asked, or to let her young guest go on
her own business alone and unquestioned, while she saw to her comfort,
and proved much more companionable than Katherine expected.

On this particular evening which marked a new mental epoch for Katherine
Liddell, the two companions were sitt