All this passed through her mind as her hand was on the door, and then she opened it, with a smiling face and ready hand, to find herself in the presence of--Captain Archie Clavering.
The captain was sharp-sighted enough to observe the change in her manner.

The change, indeed, was visible enough, and was such that it at once knocked out of Archie's breast some portion of the courage with which his friend's lessons had inspired him.

The outstretched hand fell slowly to her side, the smile gave place to a look of composed dignity, which made Archie at once feel that the fate which called upon him to woo a countess was in itself hard.

And she walked slowly into the room before she spoke to him, or he to her.
"Captain Clavering!" she said at last, and there was much more of surprise than of welcome in her words as she uttered them.
"Yes, Lady On--, Julia, that is; I thought I might as well come and call, as I found we weren't to see you at Clavering when we were all there at Easter." When she had been living in his brother's house as one of the family, he had called her Julia as Hugh had done.

The connection between them had been close, and it had come naturally to him to do so.
He had thought much of this since his present project had been initiated, and had strongly resolved not to lose the advantage of his former familiarity.