out of sight.

"My dear Valentine," cried Lady Charteris when they were out of
hearing, "my dear child, what could possess Ronald Earle? What could
he see in that shy, awkward girl to induce him to give up everything
and go into exile for her sake? She is not even pretty."

"She is altered, mamma," began Valentine.

"Altered!" interrupted Lady Charteris. "I should imagine she is, and
unhappy, too. She is frightened to speak--she has no style, no manner,
no dignity. He must have been insane."

"I am quite sure he loved her," said Valentine, warmly, "and loves her
now."

"That is just the mystery," replied her mother--"a clever man like he
is, accustomed to intelligent and beautiful women. I shall never
understand it."

"Do not try," said Valentine, calmly. "She is evidently nervous and
sensitive. I mean to be a true friend to Ronald, mamma; I shall try to
train and form his wife."

Poor Dora! She was already trained and formed, but no one would
understand that. People do not expect the perfume of the rose in a
wild strawberry blossom, or the fragrance of the heliotrope in a common
bluebell. Yet they wondered that in this simple girl, ignorant of the
world and it ways, they did not find a cultivated mind, a graceful
manner, and a dignified carriage. Their only thought was to train and
form her, whereas Nature and not Art had done both.

"Dora," said Ronald, as the carriage disappeared from view, "try to
like Lady Charteris and her daughter; they are so kindly disposed
toward you. I shall be so pleased to see you good friends."

"I will try," she replied, cheerfully. "How beautiful she is, Ronald!
Tell me about her. You remember her face exactly; should you remember
mine as well?"

It was the first touch of jealousy stirring in the simple, loving heart.

"Far better," said Ronald, with a smile; and then he looked up in
alarm, for Dora was weeping wildly, and clinging to him.

"Oh, Ronald!" she said, "for your sake I wish I was like her. Shall you
ever tire of me, or wish you had not married me?"

Ronald soothed and comforted his wife, and did not return to his studio
that day, but sat talking to her, telling her how noble and good
Valentine Charteris was.

Chapter XII

It is very seldom that a man of good disposition goes wrong willfully.
Ronald Earle would have felt indignant if any one had accused him of
dishonor or even neglect. He thought Dora enjoyed herself more at home
than in