e showered into her lap; but of previous years
in which everything had been with her as it was now,--with the one
exception that she had not then been deceived. She had been full of
smiles, and humour, and mirth, absolutely happy among her friends,
though conscious of the necessity of earning her bread by the
exercise of a most precarious profession,--while elated by no hope.
Though she had loved the man and had been hopeless, she was happy.
But now, surely, of all maidens and of all women, she was the most
forlorn.

Having once acceded to the truth of Lady Fawn's views, she abandoned
all hope. Everybody said so, and it was so. There was no word from
any side to encourage her. The thing was done and over, and she would
never mention his name again. She would simply beg of all the Fawns
that no allusion might be made to him in her presence. She would
never blame him, and certainly she would never praise him. As far as
she could rule her tongue, she would never have his name upon her
lips again.

She thought for a time that she would send the letter which she had
already written. Any other letter she could not bring herself to
write. Even to think of him was an agony to her; but to communicate
her thoughts to him was worse than agony. It would be almost madness.
What need was there for any letter? If the thing was done, it was
done. Perhaps there remained with her,--staying by her without her
own knowledge, some faint spark of hope, that even yet he might
return to her. At last she resolved that there should be no letter,
and she destroyed that which she had written.

But she did write a note to Lady Fawn, in which she gratefully
accepted her old friend's kindness till such time as she could "find
a place." "As to that other subject," she said, "I know that you are
right. Please let it all be as though it had never been."

CHAPTER LXI

Lizzie's Great Friend

The Saturday morning came at last for which Lord Fawn had made his
appointment with Lizzie, and a very important day it was in Hertford
Street,--chiefly on account of his lordship's visit, but also in
respect to other events which crowded themselves into the day. In the
telling of our tale, we have gone a little in advance of this, as it
was not till the subsequent Monday that Lady Linlithgow read in the
newspaper, and told Lucy, how a man had been arrested on account of
the robbery. Early on the Saturday morning Sir Griffin Tewett was
in Hertford Str