the credit of admiring the young lady, and was quite alive to the
pleasure of filling his brother nobleman's heart with jealousy and
anger. Moreover, Griselda was in his eyes very beautiful, and had she
been one whit more animated, or had his mother's tactics been but a
thought better concealed, Griselda might have been asked that night
to share the vacant throne at Lufton, in spite of all that had been
said and sworn in the drawing-room of Framley parsonage. It must
be remembered that our gallant, gay Lothario had passed some
considerable number of days with Miss Grantly in his mother's house,
and the danger of such contiguity must be remembered also. Lord
Lufton was by no means a man capable of seeing beauty unmoved or of
spending hours with a young lady without some approach to tenderness.
Had there been no such approach, it is probable that Lady Lufton
would not have pursued the matter. But, according to her ideas on
such subjects, her son Ludovic had on some occasions shown quite
sufficient partiality for Miss Grantly to justify her in her hopes,
and to lead her to think that nothing but opportunity was wanted.
Now, at this ball of Mrs. Smith's, he did, for a while, seem to
be taking advantage of such opportunity, and his mother's heart
was glad. If things should turn out well on this evening she would
forgive Mrs. Harold Smith all her sins. And for a while it looked
as though things would turn out well. Not that it must be supposed
that Lord Lufton had come there with any intention of making love to
Griselda, or that he ever had any fixed thought that he was doing so.
Young men in such matters are so often without any fixed thoughts!
They are such absolute moths. They amuse themselves with the light of
the beautiful candle, fluttering about, on and off, in and out of the
flame with dazzled eyes, till in a rash moment they rush in too near
the wick, and then fall with singed wings and crippled legs, burnt
up and reduced to tinder by the consuming fire of matrimony. Happy
marriages, men say, are made in heaven, and I believe it. Most
marriages are fairly happy, in spite of Sir Cresswell Cresswell; and
yet how little care is taken on earth towards such a result!--"I hope
my mother is using you well?" said Lord Lufton to Griselda, as they
were standing together in a doorway between the dances.

"Oh, yes: she is very kind."

"You have been rash to trust yourself in the hands of so very staid
and demure a person. An