f pulling all the coach up the hill by his own
shoulders. Whenever, therefore, he had made his effort he waited for his
companion's, looking closely into her face, cunningly driving her on, so
that she also should pull her share of the coach. Before dinner was over
Mrs. Clavering found the hill to be very steep, and the coach to be very
heavy. "I'll bet you seven to one," said he--and this was his parting
speech as Mrs. Clavering rose up at Lady Clavering's nod--"I'll bet you
seven to one, that the whole box and dice of them are married before
me--or at any rate as soon; and I don't mean to remain single much
longer, I can tell you." The "box and dice of them" was supposed to
comprise Harry, Florence, Fanny and Lady Ongar, of all of whom mention
had been made, and that saving clause--"at any rate as soon"--was
cunningly put in, as it had occurred to Archie that he perhaps might be
married on the same day as one of those other persons. But Mrs.
Clavering was not compelled either to accept or reject the bet, as she
was already moving before the terms had been fully explained to her.

Lady Clavering as she went out of the room stopped a moment behind
Harry's chair and whispered a word to him. "I want to speak to you
before you go to-night." Then she passed on.

"What's that Hermione was saying?" asked Sir Hugh, when he had shut the
door.

"She only told me that she wanted to speak to me."

"She has always got some cursed secret," said Sir Hugh. "If there, is
anything I hate, it's a secret." Now this was hardly fair, for Sir Hugh
was a man very secret in his own affairs, never telling his wife
anything about them. He kept two banker's accounts, so that no banker's
clerk might know how he stood as regarded ready money, and hardly
treated even his lawyer with confidence.

He did not move from his own chair, so that, after dinner, his uncle was
not next to him. The places left by the ladies were not closed up, and
the table was very uncomfortable.

"I see they're going to have another week after this with the Pytchley,"
said Sir Hugh to his brother.

"I suppose they will--or ten days. Things ain't very early this year."

"I think I shall go down. It's never any use trying to hunt here after
the middle of March."

"You're rather short of foxes, are you not?" said the rector, making an
attempt to join the conversation.

"Upon my word I don't know anything about it," said Sir Hugh.

"There are foxes at Clavering," sa