133 



your arm, and take me. No ; not that way" — as 

 Fairfax turned as if to go straight across the room to 

 her. " Good God — do you want to charge the girl, 

 as if she were a bullfinch. She can do that, by-the- 

 bye, as well as you can, they say. No, come along, 

 quietly this way, restrain your southern ardor and make 

 love to me as hard as you can, 'till we get round the 

 room and come upon pretty Mary unawares, so as to 

 give her a chance of being unconscious." 



It was done as she desired, and as they began to 

 approach, Mary was seized by a strong impulse to con- 

 verse earnestly with the portly dowager ; and to do so 

 leaned forward and turned round, thereby exhibiting 

 a very lovely flexure of the neck and shoulders to 

 Fairfax and his sparkling companion, and was of 

 course utterly unconscious of their vicinity, 'till Lady 

 Cheshire's gloved finger was pressed upon her shoulder, 

 when she started, rose from her seat as Lady Ches 

 took her hand, and looked inquiringly toward Fairfax, 

 once more blushing a little, but not painfully. 



" Mary, my dear, let me make you know Colonel 

 Fairfax. Colonel, Miss Mary Merton, the Die Vernon 

 of the Quorndon." 



"Are you engaged for the next galloppe?'* 



"For the next — I believe not." 



" And will you dance it with me ? 



"Willingly." 



"There, I told you so. Colonel," laughed Lady 

 Ches, maliciously. " I told him you would dance with 

 him willingly J and he ' knew that you would rather 

 not.* There now I'll leave you to yourselves ; so be 

 as agreeable to one another as you can — that means, 

 I bequeath to you my parting doom of silence and 

 stupidity.'" 



Her words were not fulfilled, however ; for though 

 it is true in general, that such an injunction laid on 

 tvio recent acquaintances is productive of embarrass- 



