cellor's wife had been less intuitively a lady than she had shown
herself to be in her lines to him.

'O--poor fellow, poor fellow!' mourned Edith Harnham.

Her distress now raged as high as her infatuation. It was she who had
wrought him to this pitch--to a marriage which meant his ruin; yet she
could not, in mercy to her maid, do anything to hinder his plan. Anna
was coming to Melchester that week, but she could hardly show the girl
this last reply from the young man; it told too much of the second
individuality that had usurped the place of the first.

Anna came, and her mistress took her into her own room for privacy. Anna
began by saying with some anxiety that she was glad the wedding was so
near.

'O Anna!' replied Mrs. Harnham. 'I think we must tell him all--that I
have been doing your writing for you?--lest he should not know it till
after you become his wife, and it might lead to dissension and
recriminations--'

'O mis'ess, dear mis'ess--please don't tell him now!' cried Anna in
distress. 'If you were to do it, perhaps he would not marry me; and what
should I do then? It would be terrible what would come to me! And I am
getting on with my writing, too. I have brought with me the copybook you
were so good as to give me, and I practise every day, and though it is
so, so hard, I shall do it well at last, I believe, if I keep on trying.'

Edith looked at the copybook. The copies had been set by herself, and
such progress as the girl had made was in the way of grotesque facsimile
of her mistress's hand. But even if Edith's flowing caligraphy were
reproduced the inspiration would be another thing.

'You do it so beautifully,' continued Anna, 'and say all that I want to
say so much better than I could say it, that I do hope you won't leave me
in the lurch just now!'

'Very well,' replied the other. 'But I--but I thought I ought not to go
on!'

'Why?'

Her strong desire to confide her sentiments led Edith to answer truly:

'Because of its effect upon me.'

'But it _can't_ have any!'

'Why, child?'

'Because you are married already!' said Anna with lucid simplicity.

'Of course it can't,' said her mistress hastily; yet glad, despite her
conscience, that two or three outpourings still remained to her. 'But
you must concentrate your attention on writing your name as I write it
here.'

CHAPTER VI

Soon Raye wrote about the wedding. Having decided to make the best of
what he feared