whether we had returned his
courtesy--if he cared for it. That's not all," she said, laying her hand
on Bella's arm. "The first thing he does on his arrival here is to
take papa's rooms. Well,--you know what I mean,--the rooms papa always
occupies here; and when Raikes remarks, 'These are always kept for
Commodore Graham, sir; they go by the name of the Commodore's quarters,'
his reply is, 'They 'll be better known hereafter as Mr. Norman
Maitland's, Mr. Raikes.' Word for word what he said; Raikes told me
himself. As for papa, he was furious; he ordered the car to the door,
and dashed into our room, and told Sally to put all the things up
again,--that we were going off. I assure you, it was no easy matter
to calm him down. You have no idea how violent he is in one of these
tempers; but we managed at last to persuade him that it was a mere
accident, and Sally began telling him the wonderful things she had heard
about Maitland from Mrs. Chetwyn,--his fortune and his family, and what
not. At last he consented to take the Chetwyns' rooms, and down we went
to meet Mr. Maitland,--I own, not exactly certain on what terms it
was to be. Cordial is no name for it, Bella; he was--I won't call it
affectionate, but I almost might: he held my hand so long that I was
forced to draw it away; and then he gave a little final squeeze in the
parting, and a look that said very plainly, 'We, at least, understand
each other.' It was at that instant, my dear, Alice opened the
campaign."

"Alice! What had Alice to do with it?"

"Nothing,--nothing whatever, by right, but everything if you admit
interference and--Well, I'll not say a stronger word to her own sister.
I 'll keep just to fact, and leave the commentary on this to
yourself. She crosses the drawing-room,--the whole width of the large
drawing-room,--and, sweeping grandly past us in that fine Queen-of-Sheba
style she does so well, she throws her head back,--it was that
stupid portrait-painter, Hillyer, told her 'it gave action to the
features,'--and says, 'Take me into dinner, will you?' But she was
foiled; old Mrs. Maxwell had already bespoke him. I hope you 're
satisfied now, Bella, that this is no dream of mine."

"But I cannot see any great mischief in it, either."

"Possibly not. I have not said that there was. Sally 's no fool,
however, and her remark was,--'There 's nothing so treacherous as a
widow.'"

Bella could not contain herself any longer, but laughed heartily at this