She turned
quite delightedly to greet her.

"Oh, here you are at last, Miss Nevill. We have been waiting for you,
have we not, Maurice dear? We both felt how pleased we should be to see
you. I am very glad you have come back; it will make it much more
pleasant for me at Kynaston; you will come up to see me, won't you?
I should like you to see my boudoir, it is lovely!"

"You forget that Miss Nevill has seen it all long ago," said Maurice,
gravely; their hands had just met, but he had not looked at her.

"Oh, yes, to be sure; how stupid I am! Of course, I remember now, it was
all done up for _you_ by poor dear old John. Doesn't it seem funny that
I should be going to live in the house? Ah, how d'ye do, Mr. Daintree?"
as Eustace came out of the vestry door; "here we are, chattering to your
sister. What a delightful sermon, dear Mr. Daintree, and what a treat to
be in a Christian church--I mean a Protestant church--again after those
dreadful Sundays on the Continent."

Vera had turned to Maurice.

"Have you any news of Sir John yet?"

"No; we cannot expect to hear of his arrival till next month. I dare say
you will like to hear about him. I will let you know as soon as he
writes."

"Thank you; I should like to know about him very much."

Helen, in the middle of Eustace's polite acknowledgment of her compliment
to his sermon, was casting furtive glances at her husband; even the two
or three grave words he had exchanged with Vera were sufficient to make
her uneasy. She desired to torture Vera with envy and with jealousy; she
had forgotten to take into account how very easily her own suspicious
jealousy could be aroused. She interrupted the vicar in the very middle
of his speech.

"Now, really, we must run away. Come, Maurice, darling, we shall be late
for lunch; you and Miss Nevill must finish your confidences another day.
You will come up soon, won't you? Any day at five I am in--good-bye."
She shook hands with them, and hurried her husband away.

"What an odd thing it is that you and that girl never can meet without
having all sorts of private things to say to each other," she said,
angrily, as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Private things! what can you possibly mean, Helen? Miss Nevill was
asking me if I had heard of John's arrival."

"I wonder she has the face to mention John's name!"

"Why, pray?"

"After her disgraceful conduct to him."

"I think you know very little about Miss Nevill's conduct