ibbon down to her boot, and were put on without
any attempt at finery or smartness. As regards dress, she had never
looked better than she did now; and Mr. Furnival, when his eye caught
her as she turned her head round towards the judge, was startled by
the grace of her appearance. Her face was very pale, and somewhat
hard; but no one on looking at it could say that it was the
countenance of a woman overcome either by sorrow or by crime. She was
perfect mistress of herself, and as she looked round the court, not
with defiant gaze, but with eyes half raised, and a look of modest
but yet conscious intelligence, those around her hardly dared to
think that she could be guilty.

As she thus looked her gaze fell on one face that she had not seen
for years, and their eyes met. It was the face of Joseph Mason of
Groby, who sat opposite to her; and as she looked at him her own
countenance did not quail for a moment. Her own countenance did not
quail; but his eyes fell gradually down, and when he raised them
again she had averted her face.

CHAPTER LXV

FELIX GRAHAM RETURNS TO NONINGSBY

"If you love the man, let him come." It was thus that the judge had
declared to his daughter his opinion of what had better be done in
that matter of Felix Graham. Then he had gone on to declare that he
had given his permission to Felix Graham to say anything that he had
got to say, and finally had undertaken to invite Felix Graham to
spend the assize week at Noningsby. Of course in the mind of the
judge all this amounted to an actual giving away of his daughter.
He regarded the thing now as done, looking upon the young people as
betrothed, and his reflections mainly ran on the material part of
the business. How should Graham be made to earn an income, and what
allowance must be made to him till he did so? There was a certain sum
set apart for Madeline's fortune, but that would by no means suffice
for the livelihood of a married barrister in London. Graham no doubt
earned something as it was, but that was done by his pen rather than
by his wig, and the judge was inclined to think that the pen must
be abandoned before the wig could be made profitable. Such were the
directions which his thoughts took regarding Madeline's lot in life.
With him the next week or two, with their events, did not signify
much; whereas the coming years did signify a great deal.

At that time, on that Sunday afternoon, there still remained to
Madeline the be