ased in the stables, while
Sir Harry himself, the master of the hounds, confined himself to
the kennel! He was determined at first to leave Merle Park and
start instantly for Stalham, and had sent for his servant to begin
the packing of his things; but as he thought of it more maturely
he considered that his arrival at Stalham would be very painful
to himself as well as to others. For the others he did not much
care, but he saw clearly that the pain to himself would be very
disagreeable. No one at Stalham would be glad to see him. Sir Harry
would be disturbed, and the other three persons with whom he was
concerned,--Lady Albury, Stubbs, and Ayala,--would be banded together
in hostility against him. What chance would he have under such
circumstances? Therefore he determined that he would stay at Merle
Park yet a little longer.

And, after all, was Ayala worth the trouble which he had proposed to
take for her? How much had he offered her, how scornfully had his
offer been received, and how little had she to give him in return!
And now he had been told that she was always running after Jonathan
Stubbs! Could it be worth his while to run after a girl who was
always running after Jonathan Stubbs? Was he not much higher in the
world than Jonathan Stubbs, seeing that he had, at any rate, double
Stubbs's income? Stubbs was a red-haired, ugly, impudent fellow, who
made his way wherever he went simply by "cheek"! Upon reflection, he
found that it would be quite beneath him to run after any girl who
could so demean herself as to run after Jonathan Stubbs. Therefore he
came down to dinner on that evening with all his smiles, and said not
a word about Ayala to Sir Thomas, who had just returned from London.

"Is he very much provoked?" Sir Thomas asked his wife that evening.

"Provoked about what?"

"He was expressly told that he would meet Ayala here."

"He seems to be making himself very comfortable, and hasn't said a
word to me about Ayala. I am sick of Ayala. Poor Tom is going to be
really ill." Then Sir Thomas frowned, and said nothing more on that
occasion.

Tom was certainly in an uncomfortable position, and never left his
bed till after noon. Then he would mope about the place, moping even
worse than he did before, and would spend the evening all alone in
the housekeeper's room, with a pipe in his mouth, which he seemed
hardly able to take the trouble to keep alight. There were three
or four other guests in the house,