at she had ever spoken to a man so young and so good-looking before!
Captain Henry Duchesne was tall, well-made, well-dressed: he was very
dark in complexion, and had a rather heavy jaw; but his dark eyes were
pleasant and honest, and he had a very attractive smile. The length of
his moustache was almost the first thing that struck Lesley: it seemed
to her so abnormally lengthy, with such very stiffly waxed ends, that
she could scarcely avert her eyes from them. She was not able to tell,
save from instinct, whether a man were well or ill-dressed, but she felt
sure that Captain Duchesne's air of smartness was due to the perfection
of every detail of his attire. She liked his manner: it was easy,
well-bred, and unassuming; and she felt glad that he was present. For
after the communication made to her by her mother, the evening might
have proved an occasion of embarrassment. It was a relief to talk to
some one for a little while who did not know her present circumstances
and position.

Lady Alice watched the two young people with a little dawning trouble in
her sad eyes. She had known and liked Harry Duchesne since his
childhood, and she had not been free from certain hopes and visions of
his future, which affected Lesley also, but she thought that her
father's invitation had been premature. Especially when she heard
Captain Duchesne say to the girl in the course of the evening--

"Are you going to London to-morrow?"

"Yes, I believe so," said Lesley, looking down.

"And you will be in town during the winter, I hope?"

Lady Alice thought it well to interpose.

"My daughter will not be staying with me. She goes to a relation's house
for a few months, and will lead a very quiet life indeed. When she comes
back to Courtleroy it will be time enough for her to commence a round of
gaieties." This with a smile; but, as Henry Duchesne knew well enough,
with Lady Alice a smile sometimes covered a very serious purpose. His
quick perceptions showed him that he was not wanted to call on Miss
Brooke during her stay in London, and he adroitly changed the subject.

"Unfashionable relations, I suppose," he said to himself, reflecting on
the matter at a later hour of the evening. "Upon my word I shouldn't
have thought that Lady Alice was so worldly-minded! She certainly didn't
want me to know where Miss Brooke was going. To some relation of that
disreputable father of hers, I should fancy. Poor girt!"

For, like many other persons