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"Ah, yes, so I was sorry to understand Has he not sent a h your sister?"

"He has, sir," Aurelia continued, with difficulty, to utter

There was another silence, another space of tightened breath and beating heart, absolutely audible, and again a hushed, restless movement heralded Mr Belamour's next words, "Did I no tell you truly that my Lady devises most unexpected expedients?"

"Then would you not have it so, sir?" asked Aurelia, in a bewildered voice of perplexity "Oh!" as again one of those echoes startled her, "tell me what it all means"

"Hush! listen to me," said Mr Belamour, in a voice that added to her undefined alarm by what seemed to her imperious displeasure as uncalled for as it was unusual; but the usual fatherly gentleness immediately prevailed, "My child, I should never have entertained the thought for a moment but for--but for Lady Bela hi a certain enity of derowing upon Aurelia "But you must understand that I would not--even in see, sorrow, and infire as it may seem--Lady Belamour has herself put intoyou, and finally, as I trust, securing your happiness"

"You are very good, sir," she continued to breathe out, as of her heart, and the reply produced a wonderful outburst of ardour in a low but fervent voice "You will! You will! You sweetest of angels, you will bein the sound, that it drew forth an answer from the maiden's very heart "Oh! yes, indeed--" and before she could utter another word she was snatched into a sudden, warm, vehement embrace, from which she was only partly released, as--near, but still not so near as she would have expected--this extraordinary suitor see, "No! that will do! So be it then, my child," he continued "Great will be the need of faith, patience, trust, ay, and of self-restraint, but let these be practised for a little space, and all will be well"

She scarcely heard the latter words The sense of so her The mystery of these sudden alterations of voice, now near, now far off, was intolerable Here were hands clais close upon her, and that serious, pensive voice going on all that tirew dreadful to her, dizziness came over her; she dashed aside the hands, started up with a screae noises and flashes of a swoon, knew no more till she heard Mrs Aylward's voice over her, found the horrid s down her face, diht was round her, and she perceived that she was on a low settee in the lobby