The lady's face was pale and agitated.
"Oh, Rupert," she said, "how brave and noble he is! Poor foolish boy! How proud he looked of his absurd mistake.

We shall have trouble with him, I foresee!" "I do not think so," replied her husband.

"Valentine Charteris will be here soon, and when Ronald sees her he will forget this rustic beauty." "It will be better not to thwart him," interrupted Lady Earle.

"Let me manage the matter, Rupert.

I will go down to the lodge tomorrow, and persuade them to send the girl away; and then we will take Ronald abroad, and he will forget all about it in a few months." All night long the gentle lady of Earlescourt was troubled by strange dreams--by vague, dark fears that haunted her and would not be laid to rest.
"Evil will come of it," she said to herself--"evil and sorrow.