ct in itself is childish. What did the man see in
her that he should desire her?"

"Father, you never can tell how much brains men like with their beauty.
Very little will do generally. And Dora has beauty--great beauty; no one
can deny that. I think Dora is giving up a great deal. To her, at least,
marriage is a state of passing from perfect freedom into the comparative
condition of a slave, giving up her own way constantly for some one
else's way."

"Well, Ethel, the remedy is in the lady's hands. She is not forced to
marry, and the slavery that is voluntary is no hardship. Now, my dear, I
have a case to look over, and you must excuse me to-night. To-morrow we
shall know more concerning Mr. Mostyn, and it is easier to talk about
certainties than probabilities."

But if conversation ceased about Mr. Mostyn, thought did not; for, a
couple of hours afterwards, Ethel tapped at her aunt's door and said,
"Just a moment, Ruth."

"Yes, dear, what is it?"

"Did you notice what father said about the mortgage on Rawdon Manor"'

"Yes."

"He seemed to know all about it."

"I think he does know all about it."

"Do you think he holds it?"

"He may do so--it is not unlikely."

"Oh! Then Mr. Fred Mostyn, if he is to inherit Rawdon, would like the
mortgage removed?"

"Of course he would."

"And the way to remove it would be to marry the daughter of the holder
of the mortgage?"

"It would be one way."

"So he is coming to look me over. I am a matrimonial possibility. How do
you like that idea, Aunt Ruth?"

"I do not entertain it for a moment. Mr. Mostyn may not even know of the
mortgage. When men mortgage their estates they do not make confidences
about the matter, or talk it over with their friends. They always
conceal and hide the transaction. If your father holds the mortgage, I
feel sure that no one but himself and Squire Rawdon know anything about
it. Don't look at the wrong side of events, Ethel; be content with the
right side of life's tapestry. Why are you not asleep? What are you
worrying about?"

"Nothing, only I have not heard all I wanted to hear."

"And perhaps that is good for you."

"I shall go and see grandmother first thing in the morning."

"I would not if I were you. You cannot make any excuse she will not see
through. Your father will call on Mr. Mostyn to-morrow, and we shall get
unprejudiced information."

"Oh, I don't know that, Ruth. Father is intensely American three hundred
and six