Confound Miss--what was her foolish name ?--Tomalin! And yet--and yet--there glimmered another aspect of the matter.

Suppose Miss Tomalin followed her aunt's example, and saw in him a coming man, and seriously interested herself in his fortunes?
Then, indeed, she would be by no means a superfluous young person; for who could say to what such interest might lead?
Miss Tomalin would be her aunt's heiress, or so one might reasonably suppose.

And she was a very pretty girl, as well as intelligent.
Could it be that the real course of his destiny was only just beginning to reveal itself?
By this time, he felt better.

To pass an hour, he went into his club, read the papers, and looked, vainly, for Lord Dymchurch.
Greatly to his surprise, he found the world-shunning nobleman in Mrs.
Toplady's drawing-room; the hostess and he alone together--it was early--and seeming to have been engaged in rather intimate talk.
"Oh, this is nice!" exclaimed Mrs.Toplady.

"What have you to tell us ?" "Little of interest, I'm afraid--except that I have lunched to-day with Lady Ogram and made the acquaintance of her niece." "We were speaking of her," said the hostess, with very pronounced mischief at the corner of her lips, and eyes excessively gracious.
"You know Miss Tomalin ?" Lashmar inquired, rather abruptly, of Lord Dymchurch.
"I have met her once," was the colourless reply.
Dyce wished to ask where and when, but of course could not.