as no answer.

"Well, I will not ask again. I will not torment you."

"Oh, Mr. Bertram! What am I to say? What would you have me say? Do
not be so stern with me."

"Stern!"

"Well, are you not stern?" And coming up close to him, she looked
into his face.

"Caroline," said he, "will you be my wife?"

"I will." It was a motion of the lips rather than a spoken word; but,
nevertheless, he heard it. Fool that he was not to have heard it
before in the beating of her heart; not to have seen it in the tear
in her eye; not to have felt it in the warmth of her hand.

On that afternoon Miss Waddington's ride was much more energetic,
and on that evening Miss Baker did not think it necessary to catch a
curate to drink wine with George Bertram. He was made quite at home,
and given to understand that he had better leave the dining-room when
the ladies did so.

There was much talked over that evening and the next day: the upshot
of which was, that no marriage could take place till next summer;
that perhaps it might be expedient to postpone it till the summer
twelvemonths. To this George put, or would have put, an absolute
veto; but Miss Baker only shook her head, and smilingly said that
she thought it must be so. Nothing was to be done before Christmas;
but as Miss Baker was to be at Hadley very early in January, she
undertook to inform Mr. Bertram, and gave strong hopes that he would
be prevailed on to favour the marriage.

"It can make no difference to my purpose whether he does or no," said
George, very independently.

CHAPTER XIV.

WAYS AND MEANS.

On the following day Bertram returned to town. Now that he was a
successful lover, and about to take upon himself at some future time
the responsible duties of a married man, he became very energetic
in the chambers of Mr. Die. He could hardly spare a day during the
winter for running down to Littlebath, and whenever he did do so, he
took Coke upon Lyttleton down with him. Nor did he work in vain. He
never had worked in vain. Facility of acquiring the special knowledge
which he sought had ever been one of his gifts. Mr. Die was already
beginning to prophesy great things; and his friend Harcourt, who
occasionally wanted his society, declared that he overdid his
labours.

Down at Littlebath they did not quite approve of all this industry.
Caroline naturally thought that more of her lover's hours should be
devoted to her; and Miss Baker, who looked on Mr. Bertram'