After a time I found myself answering in the same tones, and even when speaking on the most matter-of-fact subjects I felt as if I were saying the sweetest things a woman could say to a man.

We sat a long time so, and every moment we were together seemed to make our relation more perilous, until at length the sweet seductive twilight of the shortening autumn day began to frighten me, and making excuse of a headache I said I must go indoors.

He walked with me up the stone-stairway and into my boudoir, until we got to the very door of my room, and then suddenly he took up both my hands and kissed them passionately.

I felt the colour rushing to my cheeks and I had an almost irresistible impulse to do something in return.  But conquering it with a great effort, I turned quickly into my bedroom, shut the door, pulled down the blinds and then sat and covered my face and asked myself, with many bitter pangs, if it could possibly be true (as I had been taught to believe) that our nature was evil and our senses were always tempting us to our destruction.

Several hours passed while I sat in the darkness with this warfare going on between my love and my religion, and then Price came to dress me for dinner, and she was full of cheerful gossip.

“Men are such children,” she said; “they can’t help giving themselves away, can they?”

It turned out that after I had left the lawn she had had some conversation with Martin, and I could see that she was eager to tell me what he had said about myself.

“The talk began about your health and altered looks, my lady.  ’Don’t you think your mistress is looking ill?’ said he.  ‘A little,’ I said.  ‘But her body is not so ill as her heart, if you ask me,’ said I.”

“You never said that, Price?”

“Well, I could not help saying it if I thought so, could I?”

“And what did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything then, my lady, but when I said, ’You see, sir, my lady is tied to a husband she doesn’t love,’ he said, ’How can she, poor thing?  ‘Worse than that,’ I said, ’her husband loves another woman.’  ‘The fool!  Where does he keep his eyes?’ said he.  ‘Worse still,’ said I, ‘he flaunts his infidelities in her very face.’  ‘The brute!’ he said, and his face looked so fierce that you would have thought he wanted to take his lordship by the throat and choke him.  ’Why doesn’t she leave the man?’ said he.  ’That’s what I say, sir, but I think it’s her religion,’ I said.  ’Then God help her, for there’s no remedy for that,’ said he.  And then seeing him so down I said, ’But we women are always ruled by our hearts in the long run.’  ‘Do you think so?’ said he.  ‘I’m sure of it,’ said I, ‘only we must have somebody to help us,’ I said.  ‘There’s her father,’ said he.  ’A father is of no use in a case like this,’ I said, ’especially such a one as my lady’s is, according to all reports.  No,’ said I, ’it must be