ten to him, that he was so charmed with her ladyship that
he could not exist out of her presence. Yet I have seen him quite
delighted at her departure, and twice I heard him say 'Thank Heaven'--it
was for the relief. Your good society is all deceit, Miss Hastings."

"I will not have you say that, Pauline. Amiability, and the desire
always to be kind and considerate, may carry one to extremes at times;
but I am inclined to prefer the amiability that spares to the truth that
wounds."

"I am not," was the blunt rejoinder. "Will you come to your rooms, Miss
Hastings? Sir Oswald has ordered a suite to be prepared entirely for our
use. I have three rooms, you have four; and there is a study that we can
use together."

They went through the broad stately corridors, where the warm sun shone
in at the windows, and the flowers breathed sweetest perfume. The rooms
that had been prepared for them were bright and pleasant with a
beautiful view from the windows, well furnished, and supplied with every
comfort. A sigh came from Miss Hastings as she gazed--it was all so
pleasant. But it seemed very doubtful to her whether she would remain or
not--very doubtful whether she would be able to make what Sir Oswald
desired out of that frank, free-spoken girl, who had not one
conventional idea.

"Sir Oswald is very kind," she said, at length, looking around her;
"these rooms are exceedingly nice."

"They are nice," said Pauline; "but I was happier with my father in the
Rue d'Orme. Ah me, what liberty we had there! In this stately life I
feel as though I were bound with cords, or shackled with chains--as
though I longed to stretch out my arms and fly away."

Again Miss Hastings sighed, for it seemed to her that the time of her
residence at Darrell Court would in all probability be very short.

CHAPTER IV.

"YOU ARE GOING TO SPOIL MY LIFE."

Two days had passed since Miss Hastings' arrival. On a beautiful
morning, when the sun was shining and the birds were singing in the
trees, she sat in the study, with an expression of deepest anxiety, of
deepest thought on her face. Pauline, with a smile on her lips, sat
opposite to her, and there was profound silence. Miss Darrell was the
first to break it.

"Well," she asked, laughingly, "what is your verdict, Miss Hastings?"

The elder lady looked up with a long, deep-drawn sigh.

"I have never been so completely puzzled in all my life," she replied.
"My dear Pauline, you are the s