y duty to tell you that your partiality for
Lady Susan is no secret to your friends, and to warn you against her.
I should be glad to hear your reasons for disbelieving Mr. Smith's
intelligence; you had no doubt of its authenticity a month ago. If
you can give me your assurance of having no design beyond enjoying
the conversation of a clever woman for a short period, and of yielding
admiration only to her beauty and abilities, without being blinded by
them to her faults, you will restore me to happiness; but, if you cannot
do this, explain to me, at least, what has occasioned so great an
alteration in your opinion of her.

I am, &c., &c,

REGINALD DE COURCY

XIII

LADY DE COURCY TO MRS. VERNON

Parklands.

My dear Catherine,--Unluckily I was confined to my room when your last
letter came, by a cold which affected my eyes so much as to prevent my
reading it myself, so I could not refuse Your father when he offered
to read it to me, by which means he became acquainted, to my great
vexation, with all your fears about your brother. I had intended to
write to Reginald myself as soon as my eyes would let me, to point out,
as well as I could, the danger of an intimate acquaintance, with so
artful a woman as Lady Susan, to a young man of his age, and high
expectations. I meant, moreover, to have reminded him of our being quite
alone now, and very much in need of him to keep up our spirits these
long winter evenings. Whether it would have done any good can never be
settled now, but I am excessively vexed that Sir Reginald should know
anything of a matter which we foresaw would make him so uneasy. He
caught all your fears the moment he had read your letter, and I am sure
he has not had the business out of his head since. He wrote by the same
post to Reginald a long letter full of it all, and particularly asking
an explanation of what he may have heard from Lady Susan to contradict
the late shocking reports. His answer came this morning, which I shall
enclose to you, as I think you will like to see it. I wish it was more
satisfactory; but it seems written with such a determination to think
well of Lady Susan, that his assurances as to marriage, &c., do not set
my heart at ease. I say all I can, however, to satisfy your father, and
he is certainly less uneasy since Reginald's letter. How provoking it
is, my dear Catherine, that this unwelcome guest of yours should not
only prevent our meeting this Christmas, b