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Lady Scroope thought a great deal about her friend's communication, but at lasttill Fred should have returned Indeed she hardly knehat she could do when he did coreater see How is a woainst the danger of becoirl? She could notthat of Lady Mary Quin in connexion with it And when asked, as of course she would be asked, as to her own information, what could she say? She had been told that he had made hihter, and that was all! When young men will run into such difficulties, it is, alas, so very difficult to interfere with them!

And yet the matter was of such importance as to justify alirl of who was known but that her mother was said to be a as, in Lady Scroope's eyes, as forer as could come in the way of her husband's heir Fred Neville was, she thought, with all his good qualities, exactly the irl If Fred were to write home some day and say that he was about to ain, that he had s would nearly kill the Earl After all that had been endured, such a termination to the hopes of the family would be too cruel! And Lady Scroope could not but feel the injustice of it Every thing was being done for this heir, for who need have been done He was treated as a son, but he was not a son He was treated with exceptional favour as a son Everything was at his disposal He in life at once with every want amply supplied, if he would only marry such a woman as was fit to be a future Countess of Scroope Very little was required from him He was not expected to marry an heiress An heiress indeed was prepared for him, and would be there, ready for him at Christmas,--an heiress, beautiful, well-born, fit in every respect,--religious too But he was not to be asked to ht choose for hi wohters in abundance! But it was imperative that he should marry at least a lady, and at least a Protestant