lt herself to be a coward as the Aylmer Park carriage, which
had been sent to meet her at the station, was drawn up at Sir Anthony
Aylmer's door. She had made up her mind that she would not bow down
to Lady Aylmer, and yet she was afraid of the woman. As she got out
of the carriage, she looked up, expecting to see her in the hall;
but Lady Aylmer was too accurately acquainted with the weights and
measures of society for any such movement as that. Had her son
brought Lady Emily to the house as his future bride, Lady Aylmer
would probably have been in the hall when the arrival took place;
and had Clara possessed ten thousand pounds of her own, she would
probably have been met at the drawing-room door; but as she had
neither money nor title,--as she in fact brought with her no
advantages of any sort, Lady Aylmer was found stitching a bit of
worsted, as though she had expected no one to come to her. And
Belinda Aylmer was stitching also,--by special order from her mother.
The reader will remember that Lady Aylmer was not without strong
hope that the engagement might even yet be broken off. Snubbing, she
thought, might probably be efficacious to this purpose, and so Clara
was to be snubbed.

Clara, who had just promised to do her best to gain Lady Aylmer's
opinion, and who desired to be in some way true to her promise,
though she thoroughly believed that her labour would be in vain, put
on her pleasantest smile as she entered the room. Belinda, under the
pressure of the circumstances, forgetting somewhat of her mother's
injunctions, hurried to the door to welcome the stranger. Lady Aylmer
kept her chair, and even maintained her stitch, till Clara was half
across the room. Then she got up, and, with great mastery over her
voice, made her little speech.

"We are delighted to see you, Miss Amedroz," she said, putting out
her hand,--of which Clara, however, felt no more than the finger.

"Quite delighted," said Belinda, yielding a fuller grasp. Then there
were affectionate greetings between Frederic and his mother and
Frederic and his sister, during which Clara stood by, ill at ease.
Captain Aylmer said not a word as to the footing on which his future
wife had come to his father's house. He did not ask his mother to
receive her as another daughter, or his sister to take his Clara to
her heart as a sister. There had been no word spoken of recognised
intimacy. Clara knew that the Aylmers were cold people. She had
learned as mu