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'No, Mr Manston, you wrongof the kind; and you will allow me to say this much, at any rate, that I have become interested in your wife, as well as in yourself' 'Certainly,his way in the dark Manston was utterly at fault now His previous experience of the effect of his forht him to flatter himself that he could account by the same law of natural selection for the extraordinary interest Miss Aldclyffe had hitherto taken in him, as an un that it kept him near Cytherea, and enabled him, a man of no wealth, to rule on the estate as if he were its lawful owner Like Curius at his Sabine farold himself, but to have power over her who did But at this hint of the lady's wish to take his wife under her wing also, he was perplexed: could she have any sinisterso? But he did not allow himself to be troubled with these doubts, which only concerned his wife's happiness

'She tells me,' continued Miss Aldclyffe, 'how utterly alone in the world she stands, and that is an additional reason why I should sy the favour of your retireether, I will retain you ashome your wife, and live with her respectably, in short, as if you loved her; you understand I _wish_ you to stay here if you grant that everything shall flow smoothly between yourself and her' The breast and shoulders of the steward rose, as if an expression of defiance was about to be poured forth; before it took form, he controlled himself and said, in his natural voice-'My part of the performance shall be carried out,in the world ensures that hers will,' replied Miss Aldclyffe 'That will be satisfactory, then' After a few additional renified that she wished to put an end to the interview The steward took the hint and retired

He felt vexed andho the whole truth as he had done, with the single exception of his love for Cytherea (which he tried to hide even from himself), had never served hiht