fine head for a manor like yours.'
He tapped the letter as he spoke. 'Yes, I should choose him without
hesitation--speaking personally.'

'And I think,' she said artificially, 'I should choose this one as a
matter of mere personal whim, which, of course, can't be given way to
when practical questions have to be considered.'

Cytherea, after looking out of the window, and then at the newspapers,
had become interested in the proceedings between the clever Miss
Aldclyffe and the keen old lawyer, which reminded her of a game
at cards. She looked inquiringly at the two letters--one in Miss
Aldclyffe's hand, the other in Mr. Nyttleton's.

'What is the name of your man?' said Miss Aldclyffe.

'His name--' said the lawyer, looking down the page; 'what is his
name?--it is Edward Springrove.'

Miss Aldclyffe glanced towards Cytherea, who was getting red and pale by
turns. She looked imploringly at Miss Aldclyffe.

'The name of my man,' said Miss Aldclyffe, looking at her letter in
turn; 'is, I think--yes--AEneas Manston.'

5. SEPTEMBER THE THIRD

The next morning but one was appointed for the interviews, which were to
be at the lawyer's offices. Mr. Nyttleton and Mr. Tayling were both in
town for the day, and the candidates were admitted one by one into a
private room. In the window recess was seated Miss Aldclyffe, wearing
her veil down.

The lawyer had, in his letters to the selected number, timed each
candidate at an interval of ten or fifteen minutes from those preceding
and following. They were shown in as they arrived, and had short
conversations with Mr. Nyttleton--terse, and to the point. Miss
Aldclyffe neither moved nor spoke during this proceeding; it might have
been supposed that she was quite unmindful of it, had it not been
for what was revealed by a keen penetration of the veil covering her
countenance--the rays from two bright black eyes, directed towards the
lawyer and his interlocutor.

Springrove came fifth; Manston seventh. When the examination of all was
ended, and the last man had retired, Nyttleton, again as at the former
time, blandly asked his client which of the eight she personally
preferred. 'I still think the fifth we spoke to, Springrove, the man
whose letter I pounced upon at first, to be by far the best qualified,
in short, most suitable generally.'

'I am sorry to say that I differ from you; I lean to my first notion
still--that Mr.--Mr. Manston is most desirable in tone and bearing,