to be there," and with a nod at his sister he left the room.

Fern looked a little troubled. "I hope he has not gone to meet--" and
then she flushed up and did not finish her sentence; but Erle
understood her in a moment.

"Miss Davenport would not be pleased, I suppose--oh, yes, of course he
has gone to meet her. What a pity your mother is not here, Miss
Trafford; she would have kept him in order?"

"Crystal will be so angry," replied Fern, anxiously, and dropping her
voice so that Fluff should not overhear her; but the child,
disappointed that her request had been refused, had betaken herself to
the furthest corner of the room with her kitten, to whom she was
whispering her displeasure. "She never likes Percy to meet her or show
her any attention; I have told him so over and over again, but he will
not listen to me."

"I am afraid he is rather smitten with your friend, Miss
Davenport--she is wonderfully handsome, certainly. Yes, one can not be
surprised at Percy's infatuation--you are the gainer in one way, Miss
Trafford, for Percy never came half so often until Miss Davenport
lived with you."

"That makes it all the more wrong," returned Fern, firmly; "it was
Percy's duty to come and see mother, and yet he stayed away for months
at a time. Crystal has never encouraged him--she never will. I know in
her heart she does not like Percy, and yet he will persist in
harassing her."

"Faint heart ne'er won fair lady," returned Erle, lightly; and then,
as he saw the tears in Fern's eyes, his manner changed. "You must not
trouble yourself about it," he said, kindly; "it will be Percy's own
fault if he gets badly bitten: even I, a complete stranger to Miss
Davenport--for I believe I have not seen her more than three
times--can quite indorse what you say; her manner is most repelling to
Percy. He must be bewitched, I think."

"I wish he were different," she replied, with a sigh; "I know he makes
mother often very unhappy, though she never says so. He seems to find
fault with us for our poverty, and says hard things to mother because
she will work for us all."

"Yes, I know, and yet Percy is not a bad-hearted fellow," replied
Erle, in a sympathizing tone; "he is terribly sore, I know, because
your mother refuses his help; he has told me over and over again that
with his handsome allowance he could keep her in comfort, and that he
knows that his grandfather would not object. It makes him bitter--it
does indeed, Miss Tra