he broker's previous knowledge, and he was
eager that his daughter should decide for Arnault at once.

This, however, the wilful girl would not do. She enjoyed the present
condition of affairs too well, and was not without hope, also, that
her father was mistaken; for she felt sure, from Graydon's manner,
that he was not aware of his brother's financial peril, and this fact
inclined her to doubt its existence. She was actuated by the feeling
that she had given much time and encouragement to Graydon, and that
now Arnault should have his turn. Madge had been invisible since the
storm, and there was nothing to indicate that Graydon was disposed to
give her much thought. Miss Wildmere's natural supposition was that he
and Madge had been like brother and sister once, and that the form of
the relation still existed, but that in their long separation they had
grown somewhat indifferent toward each other. She believed that the
solicitude she had seen in Madge's face, on the evening so memorable
in the latter's experience, was due to the jealousy of an immature,
sickly girl, who had been so humored as to feel that Graydon belonged
to her. She naturally believed that if there had been anything
beyond this, it would have been developed by correspondence, or else
indifference on both sides would not now be so palpable. She disliked
Madge chiefly as a rival in beauty and admiration. Nothing could be
more clear than that Graydon was completely under the spell of her own
fascination, and that Madge was receiving even scant fraternal regard.
All she feared was, that during the process of keep him "well in
hand" he might become more conscious of Madge's attractions, which she
recognized, however much she decried them openly. Even if compelled by
circumstances to accept Arnault, she proposed to herself the triumph
of rejecting Graydon, and thought she could do this so skilfully as to
give the idea that he had made a deep impression on her heart, and
so eventually win him again as one of her devoted followers in the
future. This product of fashionable society had not the slightest
intention of giving up her career as a belle for the sake of Mr.
Arnault or any one else. She had more liking and less fear for Graydon
than for Arnault. The latter was an open, resolute suitor, but she
knew that he was controlled more by ambition than by affection--that
he would yield everything and submit to anything up to a certain
point. The moment she jeopa