“You still cling to this neighbourhood?”

“I do, I do; and you know with what hope I cling to it.”

“Perfectly; you still think it possible that Charles Holland may be united to you.”

“I do, I do.”

“You believe his faith.”

“Oh, yes; as I believe in Heaven’s mercy.”

“And I, Flora; I would not doubt him now for worlds; something even now seems to whisper to me that a brighter sun of happiness will yet dawn upon us, and that, when the mists which at present enshroud ourselves and our fortunes pass away, they will disclose a landscape full of beauty, the future of which shall know no pangs.”

“Yes, brother,” exclaimed Flora, enthusiastically; “this, after all, may be but some trial, grievous while it lasts, but yet tending eventually only to make the future look more bright and beautiful.  Heaven may yet have in store for us all some great happiness, which shall spring clearly and decidedly from out these misfortunes.”

“Be it so, and may we ever thus banish despair by such hopeful propositions.  Lean on my arm, Flora; you are safe with me.  Come, dearest, and taste the sweetness of the morning air.”

There was, indeed now, a hopefulness about the manner in which Henry Bannerworth spoke, such as Flora had not for some weary months had the pleasure of listening to, and she eagerly rose to accompany him into the garden, which was glowing with all the beauty of sunshine, for the day had turned out to be much finer than the early morning had at all promised it would be.

“Flora,” he said, when they had taken some turns to and fro in the garden, “notwithstanding all that has happened, there is no convincing Mr. Chillingworth that Sir Francis Varney is really what to us he appears.”

“Indeed!”

“It is so.  In the face of all evidence, he neither will believe in vampyres at all, nor that Varney is anything but some mortal man, like ourselves, in his thoughts, talents, feelings, and modes of life; and with no more power to do any one an injury than we have.”

“Oh, would that I could think so!”

“And I; but, unhappily, we have by far too many, and too conclusive evidences to the contrary.”

“We have, indeed, brother.”

“And though, while we respect that strength of mind in our friend which will not allow him, even almost at the last extremity, to yield to what appear to be stern facts, we may not ourselves be so obdurate, but may feel that we know enough to be convinced.”

“You have no doubt, brother?”

“Most reluctantly, I must confess, that I feel compelled to consider Varney as something more than mortal.”

“He must be so.”

“And now, sister, before we leave the place which has been a home to us from earliest life, let us for a few moments consider if there be any possible excuse for the notion of Mr. Chillingworth, to the effect that Sir Francis Varney wants possession of the house for some purpose still more inimical to our peace and prosperity than any he has yet attempted.”