ful sort of person, who
would not be restrained by small ordinary considerations from doing the
things she wanted to do. Her relations with her companion afforded him
food for much thought. Without any overt demonstrations, she produced
the effect of ordering Lady Cressage about. This, so far as it went,
tended to prejudice him against her. On the other hand, however, she was
so good to Julia, in a peculiarly frank and buoyant way which fascinated
the girl, that he could not but like her. And she was very good to
Alfred too.

There was, indeed, he perceived, a great deal of individuality about the
friendship which had sprung up between Miss Madden and his nephew. She
was years his senior--he settled it with himself that the American could
not be less than seven-and-twenty,--yet Alfred stole covert glances of
admiration at her, and seemed to think of nothing but opportunities for
being in her company as if--as if--Thorpe hardly liked to complete the
comparison in his own thoughts. Alfred, of course, said it was all on
account of her wonderful hair; he rather went out of his way to
dilate upon the enthusiasm her "colour scheme"--whatever that might
mean--excited in him as an artist. The uncle had moments of profound
skepticism about this--moments when he uneasily wondered whether it was
not going to be his duty to speak to the young man. For the most part,
however, he extracted reassurance from Miss Madden's demeanour toward
the lad. She knew, it seemed, a vast deal about pictures; at least she
was able to talk a vast deal about them, and she did it in such a calmly
dogmatic fashion, laying down the law always, that she put Alfred in the
position of listening as a pupil might listen to a master. The humility
with which his nephew accepted this position annoyed Thorpe upon
occasion, but he reasoned that it was a fault on the right side. Very
likely it would help to keep the fact of the lady's seniority more
clearly before the youngster's mind, and that would be so much gained.

And these apprehensions, after all, were scarcely to be counted in the
balance against the sense of achieved happiness with which these halcyon
days kept Thorpe filled. The initiatory dinner had gone off perfectly.
He could have wished, indeed, that Julia had a smarter frock, and more
rings, when he saw the imposing costumes and jewelled throats and hands
of his guests--but she was a young girl, by comparison, he reflected,
and there could be no do