ea in his own room. "I think I will,
Harris," he said, "just take a cup. By-the-bye, Harris, have you seen
my lord to-day?" Harris declared that he had seen his lordship, in a
tone of voice which implied that he at any rate had not been banished
from my lord's presence. "And how do you find him?" Harris thought
that the Marquis was a little more like himself to-day than he had
been for the last three days. "That's right. I am very glad to hear
that. Lord Hampstead's coming to-morrow will be a great comfort to
him."

"Yes, indeed," said Harris, who was quite on Lord Hampstead's side
in the family quarrels. He had not been pleased with the idea of the
Roden marriage, which certainly was unfortunate for the daughter of
a Marquis; but he was by no means inclined to take part against the
heir to the family honours.

"I wish he were coming at a little more reasonable hour in the day,"
said Mr. Greenwood with a smile. But Harris thought that the time
of the day would do very well. It was the kind of thing which his
lordship very often did, and Harris did not see any harm in it. This
Harris said with his hand on the lock of the door, showing that he
was not anxious for a prolonged conversation with the chaplain.

CHAPTER XIII.

LADY FRANCES SEES HER LOVER.

On the Monday in that week,--Monday, the 5th of January, on which
day Hampstead had been hunting and meditating the attack which he
subsequently made on Zachary Fay, in King's Court,--Mrs. Vincent had
paid a somewhat unusually long visit in Paradise Row. As the visit
was always made on Monday, neither had Clara Demijohn or Mrs. Duffer
been very much surprised; but still it had been observed that the
brougham had been left at the "Duchess of Edinburgh" for an hour
beyond the usual time, and a few remarks were made. "She is so
punctual about her time generally," Clara had said. But Mrs. Duffer
remarked that as she had exceeded the hour usually devoted to her
friend's company she had probably found it quite as well to stay
another. "They don't make half-hours in any of those yards, you
know," said Mrs. Duffer. And so the matter had been allowed to pass
as having been sufficiently explained.

But there had in truth been more than that in Mrs. Vincent's
prolonged visit to her cousin. There had been much to be discussed,
and the discussion led to a proposition made that evening by Mrs.
Roden to her son by which the latter was much surprised. She was
desirous of st