“You have been mistaken,—­and without a shadow of excuse for your mistake.”

“Others have been mistaken with me,” said Crosbie, forgetting, on the spur of the moment, that he had no right to drag the opinion of any other person into the question.

“What others?” said the squire, with anger; and his mind immediately betook itself to his sister-in-law.

“I do not want to make any mischief,” said Crosbie.

“If anybody connected with my family has presumed to tell you that I intended to do more for my niece Lilian than I have already done, such person has not only been false, but ungrateful.  I have given to no one any authority to make any promise on behalf of my niece.”

“No such promise has been made.  It was only a suggestion,” said Crosbie.

He was not in the least aware to whom the squire was alluding in his anger; but he perceived that his host was angry, and having already reflected that he should not have alluded to the words which Bernard Dale had spoken in his friendship, he resolved to name no one.  Bernard, as he sat by listening, knew exactly how the matter stood; but, as he thought, there could be no reason why he should subject himself to his uncle’s ill-will, seeing that he had committed no sin.

“No such suggestion should have been made,” said the squire.  “No one has had a right to make such a suggestion.  No one has been placed by me in a position to make such a suggestion to you without manifest impropriety.  I will ask no further questions about it; but it is quite as well that you should understand at once that I do not consider it to be my duty to give my niece Lilian a fortune on her marriage.  I trust that your offer to her was not made under any such delusion.”

“No, sir; it was not,” said Crosbie.

“Then I suppose that no great harm has been done.  I am sorry if false hopes have been given to you; but I am sure you will acknowledge that they were not given to you by me.”

“I think you have misunderstood me, sir.  My hopes were never very high; but I thought it right to ascertain your intentions.”

“Now you know them.  I trust, for the girl’s sake, that it will make no difference to her.  I can hardly believe that she has been to blame in the matter.”

Crosbie hastened at once to exculpate Lily; and then, with more awkward blunders than a man should have made who was so well acquainted with fashionable life as the Apollo of the Beaufort, he proceeded to explain that, as Lily was to have nothing, his own pecuniary arrangements would necessitate some little delay in their marriage.

“As far as I myself am concerned,” said the squire, “I do not like long engagements.  But I am quite aware that in this matter I have no right to interfere, unless, indeed—­” and then he stopped himself.

“I suppose it will be well to fix some day; eh, Crosbie?” said Bernard.

“I will discuss that matter with Mrs Dale,” said Crosbie.