ure, so far as his worldly affairs and condition were concerned,
and so far as his own plans and purposes dealt with both. The colonel
listened, growing more and more interested; thawed out a good deal in
his manner; yet maintained on the whole an indifferent apartness which
was not in accordance with the old times and the liking he then
certainly cherished for his young friend. Pitt could not help the
feeling that Colonel Gainsborough wished him away. It began to grow
dark, and he must bring this visit to an end.

'May I see Esther?' he asked, after a slight pause in the consideration
of this fact, and with a change of tone which a mother's ear would have
noted, and which perhaps Colonel Gainsborough's was jealous enough to
note. The answer had to be waited for a second or two.

'Not to-night,' he said a little hurriedly. 'Not to-night. You may see
her to-morrow.'

Pitt could not understand his manner, and went away with half a frown
and half a smile upon his face, after saying that he would call in the
morning.

It had happened all this while that Esther was busy up-stairs, and so
had not heard the voices, nor even knew that her father had a visitor.
She came down soon after his departure to prepare the tea. The lamp was
lit, the little fire kindled for the kettle, the table brought up to
the colonel's couch, which, as in old time, he liked to have so; and
Esther made his toast and served him with his cups of tea, in just the
old fashion. But the way her father looked at her was _not_ just in the
old fashion. He noticed how tall she had grown,--it was no longer the
little Esther of Seaforth times. He noticed the lovely lines of her
supple figure, as she knelt before the fire with the toasting-fork, and
raised her other hand to shield her face from the blaze. His eye
lingered on her rich hair in its abundant coils; on the delicate hands;
but though it went often to the face it as often glanced away and did
not dwell there. Yet it could not but come back again; and the
colonel's own face took a grim set as he looked. Oddly enough, he said
never a word of the event of the afternoon.

'You had somebody here, papa, a little while ago, Barker says?'

'Yes.'

'Who was it?'

'Called himself a gentleman on business.'

'What business, papa? It is not often that business comes here. It
wasn't anything about taxes?'

'No.'

'I've got all _that_ ready,' said Esther contentedly, 'so he may come
when he likes,--the ta