up she was already at my side. There
was a flush on her cheek and a fire in her eye that showed the bait was
swallowed. My role was to play the perfect innocent, and appear quite
unconscious of her having seen me.

She took my arm, and I could feel that her hand trembled. She led me
along, hastily at first, until we joined her son and niece. After that
she became uncommonly endearing in her manner to me, making such
remarks as she thought would show her that I was not so innocent as I
looked, if my replies had jumped with her expectations. But I was in
reality too experienced not to pay her off in kind, and ended in making
her believe that she had a perfect virgin to deal with. We walked on,
she was evidently much preoccupied, becoming at times quite silent for
a minute or two, and then, gently pressing my arm, she would make some
endearingly flattering remark, at which I would look lovingly but
innocently up to her face to thank her for her kind opinion. On these
occasions her eyes sparkled in a peculiar manner, and her colour went
and came. After a while, her hand left my arm and rested on the
opposite shoulder, in a half embrace, which became warmer and warmer,
her conversation became more affectionate. She was profuse in her
congratulations that her son had found so charming a schoolfellow; and
here she halted, and turning half in front of me, said that she felt
that she could love me as if I were indeed her own dear son; and,
stooping slightly, she sought a kiss of maternal affection. I threw my
arms round her neck, and our lips met in a long and loving kiss--very
warm on her side, but a simple though affectionate kiss on mine.

"Oh!" I said, "how happy I shall be to call you my mamma, and I will
love you as if you were it, it is so good of you to allow me to do so.
This half-year has been the first time in my life that I ever was
separated from my mother--and, although my dear aunt is as kind as
possible to me, still I can't call her mamma. My guardian won't allow
me to go home for the Christmas holidays, but now I shall have a dear,
kind new mamma to make me happy." Here I again raised my lips for an
embrace, which was given with even more than the previous warmth. Her
arm had fallen to my waist, and she pressed me with energy to her
bosom, which I could feel was unexpectedly firm, and even hard. I had
great difficulty in keeping my unruly member down, that she might think
I took her warm embraces as nothing mor