addled his horse himself, as his people were
all gone, and there was no one on the premises to do it for him. A
wine-glass had also been called for, for Miss Sophia, whose weeping had
been overheard. Master Sydney had gone to his room very cross,
complaining of his mother's having questioned him overmuch about his
ride, and then sent him to bed half an hour before his usual time.

A deadly fear seized upon Margaret's heart, when she heard of Sydney's
complaint of being overmuch questioned about his ride,--a deadly fear
for Hester. If her suspicion should prove true, it was out of pure
consideration that they had been "amused and sent to bed like babies."
A glance at Hester showed that the same apprehension had crossed her
mind. Her eyes were closed for a moment, and her face was white as
ashes. It was not for long, however. She presently said, with
decision, that whatever was the matter, it must be some entirely private
affair of the Greys'. If any accident had happened to any one in the
village,--if bad news had arrived of any common friend,--there would be
no occasion for secrecy. In such a case, Mrs Grey would have given
herself the comfort of speaking of it to her guests. It must certainly
be some entirely private, some family affair.--Hester was sincere in
what she said. She knew so little of the state of her own heart, that
she could not conceive how some things in it could be divined or
speculated upon by others. Still only on the brink of the discovery
that she loved Mr Hope, she could never have imagined that any one else
could dream of such a thing,--much less act upon it. She was angry with
herself for letting her fears now point for a moment to Mr Hope; for,
if this bad news had related to him, her sister and she would, of
course, have heard of it the next moment after the Greys. Margaret
caught her sister's meaning, and strove to the utmost to think as she
did; but Sydney's complaint of being "overmuch questioned about his
ride" was fatal to the attempt. It returned upon her incessantly during
the night; and when, towards morning, she slept a little, these words
seemed to be sounding in her ear all the while. Before undressing, both
she and Hester had been unable to resist stepping out upon the stairs to
watch for signs whether it was the intention of the family to sit up or
go to rest. All had retired to their rooms some time before midnight;
and then it was certain that nothing more could b