behalf of her son.
Such was the final resolve with which he reached his chambers in the
Albany. On the next day he did not see his mother. It would be well,
he thought, to have his interview with her immediately before he
started for Norway, so that there might be no repetition of it; and
it was on the day before he did start that he made his communication,
having invited himself to breakfast in Brook Street on the occasion.

"Mother," he said, quite abruptly, throwing himself into one of the
dining-room arm-chairs, "I have a thing to tell you." His mother at
once knew that the thing was important, and with her own peculiar
motherly instinct imagined that the question to be discussed had
reference to matrimony. Had her son desired to speak to her about
money, his tone and look would have been different; as would also
have been the case--in a different way--had he entertained any
thought of a pilgrimage to Pekin, or a prolonged fishing excursion
to the Hudson Bay Territories.

"A thing, Ludovic! well, I am quite at liberty."

"I want to know what you think of Lucy Robarts?" Lady Lufton became
pale and frightened, and the blood ran cold to her heart. She had
feared more than rejoiced in conceiving that her son was about to
talk of love, but she had feared nothing so bad as this.

"What do I think of Lucy Robarts?" she said, repeating her son's
words in a tone of evident dismay.

"Yes, mother; you have said once or twice lately that you thought I
ought to marry, and I am beginning to think so too. You selected one
clergyman's daughter for me, but that lady is going to do much better
with herself--"

"Indeed she is not," said Lady Lufton sharply.

"And therefore I rather think I shall select for myself another
clergyman's sister. You don't dislike Miss Robarts, I hope?"

"Oh, Ludovic!" It was all that Lady Lufton could say at the spur of
the moment.

"Is there any harm in her! Have you any objection to her? Is there
anything about her that makes her unfit to be my wife?"

For a moment or two Lady Lufton sat silent, collecting her thoughts.
She thought that there was very great objection to Lucy Robarts,
regarding her as the possible future Lady Lufton. She could hardly
have stated all her reasons, but they were very cogent. Lucy Robarts
had, in her eyes, neither beauty, nor style, nor manner, nor even the
education which was desirable. Lady Lufton was not herself a worldly
woman. She was almost as far removed f