in place of a mother, and she, while pretending to act in
accordance with his wishes, had directly opposed them. But it was not
likely that he would be able to prove her treachery though he might
be sure of it. He had desired that his girl should see as little as
possible of Ferdinand Lopez, but had hesitated to give a positive
order that she should not meet him. He had indeed himself taken her
to a dinner party at which he knew that she would meet him. But
Mrs. Roby had betrayed him. Since the dinner party she had arranged
a meeting at her own house on behalf of the lover,--as to which
arrangement Emily Wharton had herself been altogether innocent. Emily
had met the man in her aunt's house, not expecting to meet him, and
the lover had had an opportunity of speaking his mind freely. She
also had spoken hers freely. She would not engage herself to him
without her father's consent. With that consent she would do so,--oh,
so willingly! She did not coy her love. He might be certain that she
would give herself to no one else. Her heart was entirely his. But
she had pledged herself to her father, and on no consideration would
she break that pledge. She went on to say that after what had passed
she thought that they had better not meet. In such meetings there
could be no satisfaction, and must be much pain. But he had her
full permission to use any arguments that he could use with her
father. On the evening of that day she told her father all that had
passed,--omitting no detail either of what she had said or of what
had been said to her,--adding a positive assurance of obedience,
but doing so with a severe solemnity and apparent consciousness of
ill-usage which almost broke her father's heart. "Your aunt must have
had him there on purpose," Mr. Wharton had said. But Emily would
neither accuse nor defend her aunt. "I at least knew nothing of it,"
she said. "I know that," Mr. Wharton had ejaculated. "I know that.
I don't accuse you of anything, my dear,--except of thinking that
you understand the world better than I do." Then Emily had retired
and Mr. Wharton had been left to pass half the night in a perplexed
reverie, feeling that he would be forced ultimately to give way, and
yet certain that by doing so he would endanger his child's happiness.

He was very angry with his sister-in-law, and on the next day, early
in the morning, he attacked her. "I think you have betrayed me," he
said.

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Whart