ave heard that Lord Chetwynde intended to
go to Italy and to Florence--for it was quite possible that he
mentioned it to her at the Castle--and when she went away she may
have intended to come here in search of him. I dare say she went to
London first, and found out from his solicitors where he had gone.
There isn't the slightest probability, at any rate, that he can have
met with her. If he had met with her, you would have known it
yourself soon enough. She would have been here to see his wife, with
the same affectionate solicitude which she showed once before--which
you told me of. No. Rest assured Lord Chetwynde knows nothing of her
presence here. There are others who take up all his thoughts. It
seems probable, also, that she has just arrived, and there is no
doubt that she is on the look-out for him. At any rate, there is one
comfort. You are sure, you say, that she did not recognize you?"

"No; that was impossible; for I wore a thick veil. No one could
possibly distinguish my features.

"And she can not, of course, suspect that you are here?"

"She can not have any such suspicion, unless we have been ourselves
living in the dark all this time--unless she is really in league with
Lord Chetwynde. And who can tell? Perhaps all this time this Chute
and Mrs. Hart and Lord Chetwynde have their own designs, and are
quietly weaving a net around me from which I can not escape. Who can
tell? Ah! how easily I could escape--if it were not for one thing!"

"Oh, as to that, you may dismiss the idea," said Gualtier,
confidently; "and as for Lord Chetwynde, you may rest assured that he
does not think enough about you to take the smallest trouble one way
or another."

Hilda's eyes blazed.

"He shall have cause enough to think about me yet," she cried. "I
have made up my mind what I am to do next."

"What is that?"

"I intend to go myself to Obed Chute's villa."

"The villa! Yourself!"

"Yes."

"You!"

"I--myself. _You_ can not go."

"No. But how can you go?"

"Easily enough. I have nothing to fear."

"But this man is a perfect demon. How will you be able to encounter
him? He would treat you as brutally as a savage. I know him well. I
have reason to. You are not the one to go there."

"Oh yes, lam," said Hilda, carelessly. "You forget what a difference
there is between a visit from you and a visit from me."

"There is a difference, it is true; but I doubt whether Obed Chute is
the man to see it. At any rate,