THE BARONET'S DAUGHTER. 449 



is a trivial circumstance, and that can't happen again, for she was my 

 only one ; and besides/' he added, as they entered the gallery, " it is 

 almost past memory, for it happened two months ago ; oh ! yes, I 

 have been very well." 



A shade of undefinable emotion clouded the brow of Willoughby 

 as the baronet concluded, and his nether lip quivered, and the glance 

 he ventured at his companion betrayed that he knew the subject 

 upon which the other was about to enter, and that he dreaded its 

 commencement. 



"You have some fine portraits here, Sir Robert," said he, with 

 assumed calmness. 



" You have seen them often before." 



" Indeed ; I was not aware ; I had forgotten." 



" Yes, Mr. Willoughby," cried the baronet, as he placed two 

 chairs in the window recess, "these are the portraits of my ancestors, 

 the portraits of knights, bannerets, and gentlemen of my family; men, 

 Sir, who held their honour sacred, and devoted their lives to the 

 maintenance of it. But, come, will you take a chair? I will lock 

 the door," he added, as he walked across the room, "lest we should 

 be intruded upon, come, Mr. Willoughby, sit down." 



The baronet took a seat opposite his companion, and after a short 

 pause, during which he appeared to be arranging the order of his 

 questions, and the particular words in which they were to be con- 

 veyed, he began thus : " You received my letter addressed to you at 

 Paris, about two months ago, in which I required an explanation of 

 the reason of your strange absence during the illness, and until after 

 the death of the late Mrs. Willoughby ? Am I to consider you bow 

 an assent? Well, Sir, your letter dated a fortnight later was received 

 by me, in which you did not condescend to satisfy me touching the 

 questions I presumed to put to you ; but you informed me that you 

 would wait upon me on this day for the purpose of arranging some 

 important business.'' 



" I did so," said Willoughby, hastily, " and if you will allow me, I 

 will at once enter upon this business, for which I came hither, and 

 which settled, I will remove myself from your sight for ever." 



" Not so fast, young man, my business first, if you please," said the 

 baronet coolly. " Hear me. A communication was made to me by 

 one of your own servants to the effect that your wife was dying, but 

 that she was very reluctant that I should be sent for, or acquainted 

 with the matter. For this I can account : her own pride, and an 

 unwillingness to distress me, her father, her father, Mr. Willoughby. 

 No matter, I hastened to town, I watched over her till she died. 

 Before this event took place, however, she informed me that she had 

 written many letters to you, apprizing you of her situation, and im- 

 ploring your return, letters which you never answered. Is this 

 true, do you not know it to be true ?" 



Willoughby answered not for some moments. " Several letters I 

 did receive," he said slowly and hesitatingly, his eyes fixed on the 

 ground, " but they did not dwell so much upon her illness, they did 

 not implore my return, I did not know she was so ill, the letters 

 were written for another purpose, a secret -a " 



