CHAPTER IV.

MR. DUCHESNE'S WOOING.

AND my aunt's prognostications were verified. The very next day Mr. Duchesne made his appearance at Crawdour Hall. Mountiford sought me out in the morning-room, and announced the fact.

Lil ;

Lil; keep your

"But never say die, pecker up; no whining or whimpering, but look 'em boldly in the face, and speak up with a will."

This was my cousin's mode of sustaining what courage I had, and imparting more to me for the dread encounter. And, really, though I had been so long anticipating this decisive day, so long, that I had begun to wish it would come and be over,—and had been preparing myself for it; now that it was actually arrived, I felt, though no whit less determined

as to what I would say and do, some doubts as to my strength being equal to saying it and doing it in the way I would like. I felt very much afraid that I should cry.

"If you could smoke a cigar," said Mountiford, "it would do you all the good in the world; but I suppose you couldn't."

No; I certainly could not.

"Well; have a drop of brandy, at any rate! I'll get it from my flask in a moment. Nothing like that to put pluck into you."

But this kindly offer I declined also.

"It's worth all the sal volatiles and eaude-colognes and red lavenders that you girls are always taking, put together," said my good-natured cousin; "do let me give you some, Lil."

But I assured him that I had no intention of sustaining my fortitude by any of these ladylike stimulants, either; and that though I might look a little frightened,--my face in

the glass over the chimneypiece was certainly rather pale,-I did not feel so at all; and that I had no doubt but I should be able to fight this battle as well as I had done all the preliminary engagements.

And I had something now to sustain me. that I had not had in the first encounter,—from which, nevertheless, I had come off victorious, but I could not speak of that to my cousin. I could not speak to him of Philip, whose existence he determinately ignored; and, in fact, in the relation he held towards me, refused to believe in. And yet, when I thought of Philip, I did not need brandy, or red lavender, or any other "pluck"-giving cordial to support my courage in refusing Mr. Duchesne.

A very few moments more passed, and then a servant came and announced that I was "wanted in the library."

I instantly obeyed the summons.

"Go

in and win,” said Mountiford, patting me on the back as I left the room.

But though I had to traverse a lobby, a flight of stairs, a hall, and two passages, before reaching the library, I was not, in the time it took me, able to prepare myself for finding Mr. Duchesne alone there.

I had never yet had a completely tête à tête interview with him. Lady Crawdour had, on two or three occasions after his first proposal, tried to leave us alone together; but I had always followed her out of the room, and resolutely refused to return until she did. And as it had been part of the policy pursued towards me not to push me to extremities, she had always been fain to concede the point.

Now, when I found that my uncle was not in the library, I turned to leave at once,after duly recognising Mr. Duchesne.

But this was no part of the plan.

Stop, miss," he said; “don't go away." "My uncle is not here," I replied; “I came here because I believed he wanted me.”

"He does want you, but he is going to spare you to me for a few minutes first," said Mr. Duchesne; and his tone as he spoke was less servile and more confident than formerly.

"But I want to have no conversation with you, particularly alone; let me pass, if you please, Mr. Duchesne ?" For he had placed himself between me and the door.

"Stop, stop," said Mr. Duchesne, closing the door behind him as he spoke; "I want to talk to you a bit, Miss Crawdour. There's been shilly-shallying enough about this, already."

"Shilly-shallying!" I repeated, angrily; "I've wanted none, Mr. Duchesne."

"May be not," said he; "but there has been, all the same. Now, I think, if you'd just