l
as if he had supplanted him, and that he is quite thankful to you for
taking his part still.'

'How shall I bear it?' sighed Laura, to herself.

'I wonder whether he will come?' said Amy, thoughtfully.

'He will,' said Laura.

'You think so?' said Amy. 'Well, Guy would be glad. Yes. O Laura, if
Philip would learn to do Guy justice, I don't think there would be any
more to wish!'

'He will in time,' said Laura. 'He is too generous not to be won by
such generosity as Guy's; and when all this is forgotten, and all these
accusations have been lived down, he will be the warmest of friends.'

'Yes,' said Amy, as if she wished to be convinced; 'but if he would only
leave off saying his opinion has never altered, I think I could bring
myself to look on him as Guy wants me to do. Good night! dear Laura,
and don't be unhappy. Oh! one thing I must tell you; Guy made Charles
promise to do all he could not to let it be a hasty letter. Now, good
night!'

Poor Laura, she knew not whether gratitude to Guy was not one of her
most painful sensations. She wished much to know what had been said in
the letter; but only one sentence transpired, and that was, that Mr.
Edmonstone had never heard it was necessary to apply to a nephew for
consent to a daughter's marriage. It seemed as if it must have been
as cutting as Charles could make it; but Laura trusted to Philip's
knowledge of the family, and desire for their good, to make him forgive
it, and the expectation of seeing him again at the wedding, cheered her.
Indeed, a hope of still greater consequences began to rise in her mind,
after Charles one day said to her, 'I think you ought to be much obliged
to Guy. This morning, he suddenly exclaimed, "I say, Charlie, I wish you
would take care Amy's fortune is not settled on her so that it can't be
got rid of." I asked how he meant to make ducks and drakes of it; and he
explained, that if either of you two did not happen to marry for money,
like Amy, it might do you no harm.'

'We are very much obliged to him,' said Laura, more earnestly than
Charles had expected. 'Do you know what it is, Charlie?'

'Oh! you want to calculate the amount of your obligation! Somewhere
about five thousand pounds, I believe.'

Charles watched Laura, and the former idea recurred, as he wondered
whether there was any particular meaning in her inquiry.

Meaning, indeed, there was. Laura knew nothing about the value of money;
she did not know what Philip