andard; in short, it's not
much matter what standard we have, we must always come down a step or
two if we mean to make both ends meet; but you see, when a man has money
and right principles, he can atone for a lot."

Katherine gazed at her astonished. How was it that she had found the
scent which led so near the real track?

"No money," she said, gravely, "could in any way affect the matters in
dispute between Lord de Burgh and myself, so I will not speak any more
on the subject. It has all been very painful, and the worst part is that
I cannot tell you."

"Well, it must be bad," observed Mrs. Needham, in a complaining tone,
"but I suppose I must just hold my tongue."

So Katherine was left in comparative peace. But it was a hard passage to
her; she could not shake off the sickening sense of wrong and sorrow,
the painful consciousness of being humiliated which the revelation
inflicted on her, the feeling that she was, in some inexplicable way,
touched by the evil-doing of those who were so near her.

A slight cold, caught she knew not how, aggravated the fever induced by
distress of mind, and next day Mrs. Needham thought her so unwell that
she insisted on sending for the doctor, who condemned Katherine to her
bed, a composing draught, and solitude.

The doctor, however, could not forbid letters, and Katherine's seclusion
was much disturbed by a long, rambling, impassioned epistle from De
Burgh, in which, though he promised not to intrude upon her at present,
he refused to give up all hope, as he could not believe that she would
always maintain her present exaggerated and unreasonable frame of
mind--a letter that did him no good in Katherine's estimation. Then she
tried to resume her work. But Mrs. Needham, returning from one of her
"rapid acts" of inspection and negotiation in and out divers and sundry
warehouses, dismissed her peremptorily to lie down on the sofa in the
drawing-room, in reality to get her out of the way, as she was expecting
a visit from Miss Payne, with whom she wanted a little private
conversation.

"Can you throw any light on this mysterious quarrel between Katherine
and Lord de Burgh?" she asked, abruptly, as soon as Miss Payne was
seated in the study.

"Quarrel? have they quarrelled? I know nothing about it. When did they
quarrel?"

"About three days ago. He came here to propose for her, I know he did,
they were talking together for--oh!--barely a quarter-of-an-hour in the
drawing-ro