enough to help you, I'm afraid, but I can't help
loving you, you dear, beautiful thing, and wishing to make you happy!"

"But, oh, Peggy, I'm misewable! I'm abjectly misewable!" sighed
Rosalind in return. She gave a glance around, to make sure no one was
within ear-shot, and then continued rapidly, "All my life long I've been
bwought up to look forward to this time, and to work and plan and
pwepare for it. Mother talked as if it would repay me for all my pains,
but I've been out thwee seasons now, and I'm tired to death of the
everlasting wound. I get so cross and irritated and weary of it all. I
don't think I have ever been so misewable in my life as duwing the last
year!"

Peggy looked at her thoughtfully. At the moment Rosalind looked dismal
enough, but recalling the occasions when she had seen her in society,
Peggy could not honestly say that "wretched" was the word which best
described her demeanour. On the contrary, a most well-satisfied and
complacent young woman had she appeared, and Miss Peggy shrewdly
suspected that the present distaste was but a transient emotion.

"If you are so tired of it, why don't you go down to the country, or
join your mother abroad?" she inquired with a stern directness which her
companion found somewhat embarrassing.

She shrugged her shoulders and gave a little impatient laugh.

"Because I should like that _worse_! I am bored to distwaction in the
countwy, and poor dear mother would worry herself to death if I left
town just now. She is as ambitious as ever, and will be tewwibly
disappointed if I don't make a bewilliant match before the end of the
season. She is expecting the news of my engagement by evewy letter, and
is working herself up to a fever of anxiety as the time goes by--"

"And is there--is there some one in particular whom she expects you to
marry?" queried Peggy calmly. Her heart had given a throb of
nervousness at the introduction of the subject, and she had
instinctively lifted her eyes to glance at the handsome figure a few
yards ahead, but her pride would not allow her to show her discomfiture.
No one would have suspected that a personal interest lay behind the
nonchalant question.

"Oh, of course there are sevewal!" admitted Rosalind naively, "but just
now there is a Special Somebody! Title, estate, family, diamonds, all
complete, just the vewy _parti_ mother had hoped for ever since I was
born. He has spoken to father alweady, and is going to