treaty could not be ratified. The gentleman declined the alliance,
and poor Lady Lufton was uneasy in her mind at the nature of the task
before her.

"Your coming up has been rather unexpected," said Lady Lufton, as
soon as her friend was seated on the sofa.

"Yes, indeed; I got a letter from the archdeacon only this morning,
which made it absolutely necessary that I should come."

"No bad news, I hope?" said Lady Lufton.

"No; I can't call it bad news. But, dear Lady Lufton, things won't
always turn out exactly as one would have them."

"No, indeed," said her ladyship, remembering that it was incumbent
on her to explain to Mrs. Grantly now at this present interview the
tidings with which her mind was fraught. She would, however, let Mrs.
Grantly first tell her own story, feeling, perhaps, that the one
might possibly bear upon the other.

"Poor dear Griselda!" said Mrs. Grantly, almost with a sigh. "I need
not tell you, Lady Lufton, what my hopes were regarding her."

"Has she told you anything--anything that--"

"She would have spoken to you at once--and it was due to you that she
should have done so--but she was timid; and not unnaturally so. And
then it was right that she should see her father and me before she
quite made up her own mind. But I may say that it is settled now."

"What is settled?" asked Lady Lufton.

"Of course it is impossible for anyone to tell beforehand how those
things will turn out," continued Mrs. Grantly, beating about the bush
rather more than was necessary. "The dearest wish of my heart was to
see her married to Lord Lufton. I should so much have wished to have
her in the same county with me, and such a match as that would have
fully satisfied my ambition."

"Well, I should rather think it might!" Lady Lufton did not say this
out loud, but she thought it. Mrs. Grantly was absolutely speaking of
a match between her daughter and Lord Lufton as though she would have
displayed some amount of Christian moderation in putting up with it!
Griselda Grantly might be a very nice girl; but even she--so thought
Lady Lufton at the moment--might possibly be priced too highly.

"Dear Mrs. Grantly," she said, "I have foreseen for the last few days
that our mutual hopes in this respect would not be gratified. Lord
Lufton, I think;--but perhaps it is not necessary to explain-- Had
you not come up to town I should have written to you,--probably
to-day. Whatever may be dear Griselda's fate in life,