"That may be," said Ethel, drying her eyes, "but all the same, everybody expected him to offer himself to me. When we left England it was considered, you remember, by all the people we knew, that it was as good as an engagement. And now—to have to go back—" here Ethel could say no more.
"And Letty Corbin—who, I believe, really dislikes him," said Mrs. Chessingham.
"Don't be too sure about Letty," remarked Chessingham. "It 's just as likely as not that he will make another will to-morrow. All this may be simply to enliven the dulness of the country, and to give Ethel warning that she is wasting her time. You notice, he exacted no promise of us—he probably wants us to tell this at Corbin Hall. I sha'n't oblige him, for one."
"Nor I," added Ethel. "And one thing is certain, I shall go back to England. I am missing all my winter visits by staying here, and I may not be able to make a good arrangement for the season in town—so I think I shall go."
Both Chessingham and his wife thought this a judicious thing. Ethel was twenty-seven and had no time to lose, and she was
