character of the beef and sundry other household matters. As
soon as the meal was concluded and he had washed it down with a last
glass of water and with a very wry face thanked Providence for all that
he had received, he retired into his study and was seen no more till
prayer-time.

Nor was he seen then by Godfrey, who had gone out to smoke his pipe
since his father could not bear the smell of tobacco in the house, and
wandered unconsciously towards the Hall. There he stood, gazing at a
light which he knew came from Isobel's window, and lost in this
unfruitful contemplation, once more forgot the time. When he arrived
home it was to find the house in darkness and a note in his father's
handwriting on the hall table requesting him to be careful to lock the
door, as everyone had gone to bed.

He went, too, but could not sleep, for, strangely enough, that
disturbance of body and spirit which had afflicted Isobel possessed him
also. It seemed wonderful to him that he should have found her again,
whom he thought to be so utterly lost, and grown so sweet and dear. How
could he have lived all this while without her, he wondered, and,
another thought, how could he bear to part with her once more? Oh! she
was his life, and--why should they part? She had not minded when he
kissed her hands, at which, of course, she might have been angry;
indeed, she left them to be kissed for quite a long while, though not
half long enough. Perhaps she did not wish that they should part
either, or perhaps she only desired that they should be just friends as
before. It seemed almost impossible that they could become more than
friends, even if she cared to do so, which he could scarcely hope.

What was he? A young fellow, twenty, with only a little money and all
his way to make in the world. And what was she? A grand young lady,
rather younger than himself, it was true, but seeming years older, who
was a great heiress, they said, and expected to marry a lord, someone
born with a silver spoon in his mouth, whose fortune had been made for
him by other people. Moreover, his father hated her because their
religious views were different, and her father hated him, or used to,
for other reasons.

Yes, it was quite impossible--and yet Nature seemed to take no account
of that: Nature seemed to tell him that it was absolutely possible, and
indeed right, and what she, Nature, wished. Also this same persistent
Nature seemed to suggest to him that Isobel w