was ever in her ear, and won her attention now
and then; not often.

When he left her, she did not ask him to come again.

Her father did, though, and told him to be patient; better days were in
store. "Give her time," said he, "and, a month or two hence, if you have
the same feeling for her you used to have--"

"I love her more than ever. I worship her--"

"Then you will have me on your side, stronger than ever. But you must
give her time."

And now Coventry had an ally far more powerful than himself--an ally at
once zealous and judicious. Mr. Carden contented himself at first with
praising him in general terms; next he affected to laugh at him for
renting the villa, merely to be in the place which Grace had occupied.
Then Grace defended him. "Don't laugh at an honest love. Pity it. It is
all we can do, and the least we can do."

But when he advanced further, and began to remind his daughter she had
once given this gentleman hopes, and all but engaged herself to him,
she drew back with fear and repugnance, and said, "If he can not forget
that, pray let him never come near me again."

"Oh," said Mr. Carden, "I believe he has no hopes of the kind; it is of
you I am thinking, not of him. It has got about that poor Little had a
connection with some girl in humble life, and that he was in love with
her, and you in love with him. That wounds a father's pride, and makes
me grateful to Coventry for his unshaken devotion, whilst others are
sneering at my poor child for her innocent love."

Grace writhed, and the tears ran down her cheeks at this. "Oh, spare the
dead!" she faltered.

Then her father kissed her, and begged her to forgive him; he would
avoid all these topics in future: and so he did, for some time; but what
he had said rankled.

A few days after this Coventry came again, and did nothing but soothe
Grace with words; only he managed so that Grace should detect him
looking very sad when he was not actually employed in cheering her.

She began to pity him a little, and wonder at his devotion.

He had not been gone many hours when another visitor arrived quite
unexpectedly--Mr. Raby. He came to tell her his own news, and warn her
of the difficult game they were now playing at Raby Hall, that she might
not thwart it inadvertently.

Grace was much agitated, and shed tears of sympathy. She promised, with
a sigh, to hold no communication with Mrs. Little. She thought it very
hard, but she promised.

In th