ldom wasted time in preliminaries. "I would always
rather talk business with a man than with a woman; so if Mr. Crewys
will lend me his arm to supplement my stick, I will take a turn with
him instead of with you, my dear, if you have no objection."

"Did you ever hear anything like her?" said poor Mrs. Hewel, turning
to Lady Mary as soon as her aunt was out of hearing. "What Mr. Crewys
must think of her, I cannot guess. She always says she had to exercise
so much reticence as an ambassadress, that she has given her tongue a
holiday ever since. But there is only one possible subject _they_ can
have to talk about. And how can we be sure her interference won't
spoil everything? She is quite capable of asking what Peter's
intentions are. She is the most indiscreet person in the world," said
Sarah's mother, wringing her hands.

"I think _Peter_ has made his intentions pretty obvious," said Lady
Mary. She smiled, but her eyes were anxious.

"And you are sure you don't mind, dear Lady Mary? For who can depend
on Lady Tintern, after all? She is supposed to be going to do so much
for Sarah, but if she takes it into her head to oppose the marriage, I
can do nothing with her. I never could."

"I am very far from minding," said Lady Mary. "But it is Sarah on whom
everything depends. What does she say, I wonder? What does she want?"

"It's no use asking _me_ what Sarah wants," said Mrs. Hewel,
plaintively. "Time after time I have told her father what would come
of it all if he spoilt her so outrageously. He is ready enough to find
fault with the boys, poor fellows, who never do anything wrong; but he
always thinks Sarah perfection, and nothing else."

"Sarah is very fortunate, for Peter has the same opinion of her."

"Fortunate! Lady Mary, if I were to tell you the chances that girl has
had--not but what I had far rather she married Peter--though she might
have done that all the same if she had never left home in her life."

"I am not so sure of that," said Peter's mother.

Lady Tintern's turn took her no further than the fountain garden,
where she sank down upon a bench, and graciously requested her escort
to occupy the vacant space by her side.

"I started at an unearthly hour this morning, and I am not so young as
I was," she said; "but I am particularly desirous of a good night's
rest, and I never can sleep with anything on my mind. So I came over
here to talk business. By-the-by, I should have come over here long
ago