day, upon Nora’s mobile face, on her slim and lissom figure, which, stripped of its clothing, resembled nothing better than a willow wand, and listening eagerly to her flow of nonsensical chatter, during which she successively ‘cheeked’ her parents and himself, ridiculed her acquaintances, scolded her younger brethren, and took her own way in everything. In truth, she differed as greatly from the loving, submissive woman, who lived but to please him, in England, as she possibly could do, and herein lay her attraction for him. Nell Llewellyn was more beautiful, more obedient and more loving, but Nora was more _new_. He had become just a little bit tired of Nell, and he had never met a girl who treated him as Nora did, before. She spoke to him exactly as she chose; she didn’t seem to care a pin about his title or his money. She contradicted him freely; refused his wishes whenever they clashed in any degree with her own, and let him fully understand that she intended to do exactly as she chose for the remainder of her life. She was a new experience to Lord Ilfracombe, who had been accustomed to be deferred to in everything. Perhaps she knew this; perhaps she was ‘cute’ enough to guess the likeliest method by which to snare the fish she had set her heart on catching; anyway the bait took and the gudgeon was netted. The Earl of Ilfracombe and Miss Nora Abinger were formally engaged and the wedding-day was fixed. But still the young lady did not relax her discipline, and her lover’s privileges remained few and far between. ‘Paws off Pompey!’ she would cry if he attempted to take any of the familiarities permissible to engaged people. ‘Do you want Vicenzo or Giorgione to make us the jest of Valetta? Don’t you know that “spooning” is out of fashion? We leave all that sort of thing to the _oi polloi_ now-a-days.’ ‘Oh, do we?’ the young man would retort, playfully; ‘then I’ll belong to the _oi polloi_, Nora, if you please! At all events, I’m going to have a kiss!’ ‘At all events, you’re going to have no such thing; at least, not now. There’ll be plenty of time for all that kind of nonsense after we’re married, and we’re not there yet, you know. Don’t forget “there’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip.”’ Then, seeing him frown, she would add coaxingly, twisting her mouth up into the most seductive curves as she spoke,-- ‘There, don’t be vexed, you’ll have too much of kissing some day, you know. Come out in the boat with me. You’re the most troublesome boy I ever knew. There’s no keeping you in order in the house.’