extraordinary and otherwise incomprehensible repugnance : it pains you to speak of it,-and no wonder; but for your own sake "For Alice's sake," said Kate, quickly, "I cannot." "For Alice's sake!" He appeared to be deeply struck, and on the verge of knowing all. "For Alice's sake, did you say? Then the mystery lies between you, Alice, and Pollaxfen: is it so?" His heart sank. 66 Yes, it does." 66 And you will not tell me? Then at least put me in the way of learning the truth from others,―your sisters?" 66 66 No, no; they know nothing." Who, then In Heaven's name, Kate, don't trifle with me! Do I frighten you? I did not mean to do that," more gently. "But if you would only speak "I will not speak. Rupert, you mean kindly, and I thank you. I see you think I care about being friends with Harold, and I do not; that is all: there is no need to try to reconcile us--we are better apart; and I will try to overcome all angry feelings towards him. He is not a man I can ever esteem: he tries, as you see, personally to annoy and disturb me; but he was Alice's husband, and I would rather we said no more about him." "By Heaven, you are a noble girl!"—said Evelyn, and broke off short. His tongue refused to utter another word; and poor Kate, whose heart had leaped at the words, waited in vain for more. They passed into a long, dark, shady avenue. "Let us drop the subject then," said Evelyn, in a new tone; "and now that we are under the trees, Kate, and I cannot see your face if it be not friendly to my announcement, I shall perhaps have the courage to tell you what principally brought me home with you to-night. It was not only to importune you that I came: dry your eyes, and prepare to smile again. You shall have the cheque you promised to your friends by to-morrow morning; and they need never know that there was any hitch in the matter." But, Rupert-you-have you any power over the estate?" said Kate, in surprise. 66 "Not over yours, but over my own. Look here: if we could have made Pollaxfen eat his own words, that is what I should have liked better than anything,-a little, lowborn, pettifogging interloper, to dare to treat you so――" "Never mind." It was a very gentle voice that spoke. "Never mind him, Rupert; I don't." "You did, however; he brought the tears to your eyes this afternoon "Tell me what you were going to say." I cannot let you suffer or perhaps it ought to be that I cannot let our poor friends in Galloway suffer-because of his brutality. You will not be proud and foolish with me, Kate, and refuse my help? No one else can stop my giving the five hundred you promised; and as you know the pain of being prevented accomplishing your intentions yourself, I trust to you," smiling, "not to inflict the like pain upon me." "But do you really mean that you will give the poor Comlines the money?" "I certainly mean to give it you for them." "Not me!" "Yes, you. You are a woman of business now, Kate, and can understand that it would be quite undesirable for me to appear in the affair. Think for yourself, and you will see that these good people cannot but know, whatever they may choose to say, that you do owe them a good turn, and they show their sense by making no demur to accepting one at your hands. But if they were to find that they were, after all, relieved by me-by one who was-was—well, you know what I would say; however kind and hospitable they were, they would hardly recognise that as being anything of a claim, they would feel degraded-it would embitter all their pleasure; now, would it not?" "Perhaps; yes. Oh, you are right, I suppose: and how good you are, Rupert! I am so glad,-so very glad! Thank you may I say, thank you?" shyly. "Well, yes; you may say "Thank you.' And I shall say 'Thank you,' too; for you have saved me a long explanation by the exercise of your intelligence and forbearance. If everybody were only as quick at understanding as you, Kate, it is such a nuisance to have to argue and expound." "Oh dear, I am so glad! I can't tell you how glad I am!" Perhaps it was not altogether about the cheque, but this of course she did not know; it seemed as if it were, and she would not look beneath the surface that night. It was something to be even unreasonably happy. "You don't know how many ways I had thought of, for saving up the money somehow-but I am afraid I should never have done it; besides which, they would have had to wait. Oh, Rupert, it is so kind of you!" "Is it? It must be pleasant to be kind, then." "After I had spoken to Mr Brewster, I had no hope; for he told me at once that nothing more could be done." "Much Brewster knew about it! Why did you not come to me? You treated us all very badly, I think, telling no one your trouble, and flying off with it to Brewster!" "I had no one else," said Kate, colouring; "and he had to be told, besides." "You might have confided in me, at any rate. It was a perfect wonder that he did not want to help you-eh?” "I am afraid-he did." Both were silent, then both laughed. The relief of having something to laugh at, the relief of being thus unexpectedly delivered from her dilemma, and the relief of having brought a trying interview to a closefor they were now rattling through the busy streets again— was altogether too much for the over-strung nerves of the sensitive, excitable girl; and from having begun with a feeling of diversion that was sober enough, Kate laughed immoderately, intemperately, wildly. She could not stop. How could he know that the gasps and sighs he heard, were not all excited by her sense of the ludicrous-that her merriment was hysterical-that she bowed and bent over, as again and again she was overcome by mirth, almost writhing under the pain it gave, because her poor weak body was unable at this time to resist? He looked at her, and his own laughter died away. They reached home, and he got out, carefully assisting her to alight; but he did not take her hand and lead her in, as he had all but made up his mind to do. They waited together on the step, no one coming at the first summons; and the hansom turned and drove off. "The servants are out, or enjoying themselves," said Evelyn. "How silent it is hereabouts to-night! Hark, Kate, to that heavy, rumbling, continuous sound in the distance! That is the roar of Piccadilly." He stopped, listening, then muttered half aloud, "It is like the noise of the waves in Galloway." CHAPTER XXXIII. THE END OF THE SEASON. "You've played, and lov'd, and ate, and drank your fill, -POPE. The cheque was sent off the following day, and by a speedy post came the Comlines' grateful acknowledgments. The letter was duly shown to the true donor, and Mr Brewster was apprised thereof, and Lady Olivia and Marjorie were told as much as it was good for them to know; but nothing of any note came out of all these conferences, and soon Kate learned to forget that she had been looked at fervently and spoken to kindly. She had but to suppose that Rupert had been interested in circumventing Pollaxfen, with whom he had now confessed to having quarrelled at the time of the wedding; and that a feeling of recrimination had in reality, more than perhaps he was himself aware, lain at the bottom of his desire to take up the cudgels on her behalf. She could not read his heart, and appearances were certainly against him. He was now, it seemed again, all for Marjorie. Lady Olivia was obviously awakened and suspicious, constantly begging dear Kate to take Rupert's arm, leaving her on his hands at every opportunity, and studiously watching that he was not alone with the sister who was really harmless. Days passed, and he could not find the opportunity he wanted. 66 There were eyes, however, that saw something was amiss. Oh, take her, take her; make up your mind, and have done with it!" Kate would break out to herself with dry lips and burning cheek. "End this miserable courtship-if courtship it can be called-so unlike that which I remember, yet which seems to satisfy poor, easily-contented Marjorie. You would not have won me go, Rupert. I would not have been caught by a lazy word now and then, and a compliment on my clothes that is more than half contemptuous. He only makes much of her if he be in the mood-she has no power to draw him towards her, to keep him with her. Oh, he spoke to me differently, he looked at me differently! Her companionship does not animate him as mine did. With me he was always gay, happy, content; he seemed to need no other presence, to want no one else when I was by. Even yet I could satisfy him, if he did but know, would but believe God help me! what am I saying? Have I been seeking to submit to His will all these years, only to come to this at last?" "It is a little hard to bear," said poor Kate, presently. "But it is all for the best. I am strong, I can stand a good deal. My brothers-in-law," added she, with a brave smile, are evidently, one way or another, destined to be the torment of my life!" 66 After this, she was more at the Charles Newbattles than ever and Walter painted her; and found that, contrary to his prognostications, he did not "make a better thing" of Marjorie, for Kate's portrait was universally admired, while that of her sister was pronounced to be a washed-out and shadowy thing that had mistaken itself for a Greuze. "Greuze only would have done her justice," asserted Walter; and he found some consolation in the continual corrections and retouches that were necessary; but he himself owned in the end that he had not succeeded. The curl of Kate's long black lashes, the rich bloom of her cheek, her melting eye and tender lip, he had caught wonderfully well, to do him justice; the turn of her head showed the exquisite curve of chin and throat, and the narrow gold band which caught up her hair had not been suffered to confine it. One long tress strayed over her shoulder and lost itself in the sombre hues of her dress. It was altogether a good picture, and nothing gratified the youthful aspirant to fame more than the unequivocal pleasure of Evelyn over it. Evelyn hardly looked at the tall girl in white, with a blue sash round her waist, who would not turn into Marjorie for all the pains both Walter and his sitter had been at. He had been brought down by the original on purpose to say what he thought of it; and all she got was this. He pronounced it very good, excellent,-gave it the highest praise it had yet received from any one, but, even as the glib compliments were passing his lips, his eyes were roving. He could not keep them off the other portrait. Kate was not there, or he might have been more wary, |