her. "My dear," she said to Miss Macnulty, as they went up-stairs
after the opera, "come into my room a moment. You heard all that my
aunt said?"

"I could not help hearing. You told me to stay there, and the door
was ajar."

"I wanted you to hear. Of course what she said was the greatest
nonsense in the world."

"I don't know."

"When she talked about my being taken to prison for not answering
a lawyer's letter, that must be nonsense?"

"I suppose that was."

"And then she is such a ferocious old termagant,--such an old
vulturess. Now isn't she a ferocious old termagant?" Lizzie paused
for an answer, desirous that her companion should join her in her
enmity against her aunt, but Miss Macnulty was unwilling to say
anything against one who had been her protectress, and might,
perhaps, be her protectress again. "You don't mean to say you don't
hate her?" said Lizzie. "If you didn't hate her after all she has
done to you, I should despise you. Don't you hate her?"

"I think she's a very upsetting old woman," said Miss Macnulty.

"Oh, you poor creature! Is that all you dare to say about her?"

"I'm obliged to be a poor creature," said Miss Macnulty, with a red
spot on each of her cheeks.

Lady Eustace understood this, and relented. "But you needn't be
afraid," she said, "to tell me what you think."

"About the diamonds, you mean?"

"Yes; about the diamonds."

"You have enough without them. I'd give 'em up for peace and quiet."
That was Miss Macnulty's advice.

"No;--I haven't enough;--or nearly enough. I've had to buy ever so
many things since my husband died. They've done all they could to be
hard to me. They made me pay for the very furniture at Portray." This
wasn't true; but it was true that Lizzie had endeavoured to palm off
on the Eustace estate bills for new things which she had ordered for
her own country-house. "I haven't near enough. I am in debt already.
People talked as though I were the richest woman in the world; but
when it comes to be spent, I ain't rich. Why should I give them up if
they're my own?"

"Not if they're your own."

"If I give you a present and then die, people can't come and take it
away afterwards because I didn't put it into my will. There'd be no
making presents like that at all." This Lizzie said with an evident
conviction in the strength of her argument.

"But this necklace is so very valuable."

"That can't make a difference. If a thing is a man's own he can giv