Lord Chetwynde tell you about Lady Chetwynde?" she asked,
very cautiously. She was anxious, first of all, to see how much Mrs.
Hart knew.

"No," said Mrs. Hart, "he scarcely mentioned her name." She looked
suspiciously at Hilda while she spoke.

"That is strange," said Hilda. "Had you any conversations with him?"

"Yes, several."

"And he did not tell you?"

"He told me nothing about her," said Mrs. Hart, dryly.

Hilda drew a long breath of relief.

"It's a secret in this house," said she, "but you must know it. I
will tell you all about it. After the Earl's death Lady Chetwynde
happened to come across some letters written by his son, in which the
utmost abhorrence was expressed for the girl whom he had married. I
dare say the letters are among the papers yet, and you can see them.
One in particular was fearful in its denunciations of her. He reviled
her, called her by opprobrious epithets, and told his father that he
would never consent to see her. Lady Chetwynde saw all these. You
know how high-spirited she was. She at once took fire at these
insults, and declared that she would never consent to see Lord
Chetwynde. She wrote him to that effect, and then departed from
Chetwynde Castle forever."

Mrs. Hart listened with a stern, sad face, and said not a word.

"I went with her to a place where she is now living in seclusion. I
don't think that Lord Chetwynde would have come home if he had not
known that she had left. Hearing this, however, he at once came
here."

"And you?" said Mrs. Hart, "what are you doing here? Are you the Lady
Chetwynde of whom the servants speak?"

"I am, temporarily," said Hilda, with a sad smile. "It was Zillah's
wish. She wanted to avoid a scandal. She sent off all the old
servants, hired new ones, and persuaded me to stay here for a time as
Lady Chetwynde. She found a dear old creature to nurse you, and never
ceases to write about you and ask how you are."

"And you live here as Lady Chetwynde?" asked Mrs. Hart, sternly.

"Temporarily," said Hilda--"that was the arrangement between us.
Zillah did not want to have the name of Chetwynde dishonored by
stories that his wife had run away from him. She wrote Lord Chetwynde
to that effect. When Lord Chetwynde arrived I saw him in the library,
and he requested me to stay here for some months until he had
arranged his plans for the future. It was very considerate in Zillah,
but at the same time it is very embarrassing to me, and I am l