gone over with Mrs. Roden, when she made her weekly
call, and had certainly ingratiated herself with the austere lady.
Other society she had none, nor did she seem to desire it. Clara
Demijohn, seeing the intimacy which had been struck up between Marion
and Mrs. Roden,--as to which she had her own little jealousies to
endure,--was quite sure that Marion was setting her cap at the Post
Office clerk, and had declared in confidence to Mrs. Duffer that the
girl was doing it in the most brazen-faced manner. Clara had herself
on more than one occasion contrived to throw herself in the clerk's
way on his return homewards on dusky evenings,--perhaps intent only
on knowing what might be the young man's intentions as to Marion Fay.
The young man had been courteous to her, but she had declared to Mrs.
Duffer that he was one of those stiff young men who don't care for
ladies' society. "These are they," said Mrs. Duffer, "who marry the
readiest and make the best husbands." "Oh;--she'll go on sticking
to him till she don't leave a stone unturned," said Clara,--thereby
implying that, as far as she was concerned, she did not think it
worth her while to continue her attacks unless a young man would give
way to her at once. George had been asked more than once to drink tea
at No. 10, but had been asked in vain. Clara, therefore, had declared
quite loudly that Marion had made an absolute prisoner of him,--had
bound him hand and foot,--would not let him call his life his own.
"She interrupts him constantly as he comes from the office," she said
to Mrs. Duffer; "I call that downright unfeminine audacity." Yet she
knew that Mrs. Duffer knew that she had intercepted the young man.
Mrs. Duffer took it all in good part, knowing very well how necessary
it is that a young woman should fight her own battle strenuously.

In the mean time Marion Fay and George Roden were good friends. "He
is engaged;--I must not say to whom," Mrs. Roden had said to her
young friend. "It will, I fear, be a long, long, tedious affair. You
must not speak of it."

"If she be true to him, I hope he will be true to her," said Marion,
with true feminine excitement.

"I only fear that he will be too true."

"No, no;--that cannot be. Even though he suffer let him be true. You
may be sure I will not mention it,--to him, or to any one. I like
him so well that I do hope he may not suffer much." From that time
she found herself able to regard George Roden as a real friend,