religion as a thing apart, and of treating it from an
"in-another-department-if-you-please" point of view; and she felt that
Tremaine's open agnosticism was almost better--and certainly more
sincere--than this.

But Mrs. Herbert was utterly unconscious of any secret fault on her own
part, and continued to purr contentedly to herself. "Felicia, dear
child! will certainly take an excellent position. She will be in county
society, the very thing which I have always desired for her; and she
will enter it, not on sufferance, but as one of themselves. I can not
tell you what a pleasure it is to Mr. Herbert and myself to think of our
beloved daughter as a regular county lady; it quite makes up for all the
little self-denials that we suffered in order to give her a good
education and to render her fit to take her place in society. I
shouldn't be surprised if she were even presented at Court." And the
mother's cup of happiness ran over at the mere thought of such honour
and glory.

Felicia, too, was radiantly happy. In the first place, she was very much
in love; in the second, her world was praising her for doing well to
herself. "I can not think how a clever man like Alan ever fell in love
with such a stupid creature as me," she said to Elisabeth, not long
before the wedding.

"Can't you? Well, I can. I don't wonder at any man's falling in love
with you, darling, you are so dear and pretty and altogether adorable."

"But then Alan is so different from other men."

Elisabeth was too well-mannered to smile at this; but she made a note of
it to report to Christopher afterward. She knew that he would understand
how funny it was.

"I am simply amazed at my own happiness," Felicia continued; "and I am
so dreadfully afraid that he will be disappointed in me when he gets to
know me better, and will find out that I am not half good enough for
him--which I am not."

"What nonsense! Why, there isn't a man living that would really be good
enough for you, Felicia."

"Elisabeth! When I hear Alan talking, I wonder how he can put up with
silly little me at all. You see, I never was clever--not even as clever
as you are; and you, of course, aren't a millionth part as clever as
Alan. And then he has such grand thoughts, too; he is always wanting to
help other people, and to make them happier. I feel that as long as I
live I never can be half grateful enough to him for the honour he has
done me in wanting me for his wife."

Elisabeth