h the taunt, but made no reply.

"But, if you will condescend to look at the matter with a single grain
of common-sense, you will see that circumstances have utterly changed
since you refused to marry George. Then, Mr. Heigham was alive, poor
fellow, and then, too, George wanted to marry you as a wife, now he is
merely anxious to marry you that he may be enabled to make reparation
to your father. He is a fast-dying man. You would never be his wife
except in name. The grave would be his only marriage-bed. Do you not
understand the difference?"

"Perfectly, but do _you_ not understand that whether in deed or in
name I cannot outrage my dead Arthur's memory by being for an hour the
wife of that man? Do _you_ not know that the marriage service requires
a woman to swear to 'Love, honour, and obey,' till death parts,
whether it be a day or a lifetime away? Can I, even as a mere form,
swear to love when I loathe, honour when I despise, obey when my whole
life would rise in rebellion against obedience! What are these estates
to me that I should do such violence to my conscience and my memories?
Estates, of what use are they to one whose future lies in the wards of
a hospital or a sisterhood? I will have nothing to do with this
marriage, Lady Bellamy."

"Well, I must say, Angela, you do not make much ado about ruining your
father to gratify your own sentimental whims. It must be a comfortable
thing to have children to help one in one's old age."

Angela reflected on Mr. Fraser's words about her duty to her father,
and for the second time that day she winced beneath Lady Bellamy's
taunt; but, as she returned no answer, her visitor had no alternative
but to drop the subject and depart.

Before she went, however, she had a few words with Philip, urging the
serious state of George's health and the terms of his grandfather's
will, which prevented him from leaving the estates to himself, as a
reason why he should put pressure on Angela. Somewhat, but not
altogether to her surprise, he refused in these terms:

"I don't know to what depths you have gone in this business, and it is
no affair of mine to inquire, but I have kept to my share of the
bargain and I expect you to keep to yours. If you can bring about the
marriage with George, well or ill, on the terms I have agreed upon
with him, I shall throw no obstacle in the way; but as for my trying
to force Angela into it, I should never take the responsibility of
doing so, nor wou