home some account of my proceedings she was so
exasperated that, in her anger, she betrayed to him the whole
history of Julia's death. It seems that a short time ago
Escourt met him accidentally in the street, and asked him if
he was not James Harding's son, and Mrs. Lovell's cousin. He
had known something of his father for many years; and after
one or two more interviews with him, he offered to engage him
as a gamekeeper. Harding, who had no situation, and had given
up carpentering, jumped at the offer. Just before Mrs. Tracy
left Bromley he came and told her this. She warned him not to
let out what he knew; for, half from fear of me, half, I
believe, from some vague hope that I am growing attached to
Alice, she seems anxious to keep her promise in the spirit as
well as in the letter of it. She seems at last to understand,
that she cannot do you a mischief without injuring Alice at
the same time; and she has taken pains to inculcate the same
idea on Harding's dull brain. In the course of the same visit,
he confessed to his aunt that Escourt had often questioned him
about Alice; and on one of these occasions had made some
coarse allusions to our intimacy, which drew from him
(Harding) the boast that he could, any day, get you turned out
of your husband's house. This, then, explains sufficiently
Escourt's manner last night; but he will not get anything more
out of Harding, or I am much mistaken."

"I own that I do not understand, or share that confidence."

"The fact is, that Harding has found out, or thinks he has
found out, that Escourt has taken a wonderful fancy to Alice;
he is just the sort of man to _be_ taken by that innocent
placid kind of beauty. Now, I am next to certain that his game
is to get me out of the way by pushing on matters to an
extremity between Edward, you, and myself, and to accomplish
this by means of Harding's knowledge of what he calls our
intrigue."

"Good God!" I exclaimed, with painful emotion, "if Edward was
to hear the words you use, the things you say to me, and which
are said of me, by such men as those! No woman has ever been
so deeply degraded, so cruelly insulted, before." I threw up
my veil and pushed back the hair from my checks, which felt
burning with shame and indignation.

"It is useless to think what Edward would feel or say if he
were to be acquainted with all these things; but he must and
shall be kept in ignorance of them, if you will learn a little
self-command, if