‘_Impossible!_’ cried Mr Courtney, starting. He had had his own suspicions respecting the young overseer’s admiration for his daughter and heiress, and, on a former occasion, he had told him so, but he had never had any idea that it had come to an open avowal between them. ‘Do you mean to tell me,’ he continued, ‘that De Courcelles has had the audacity to address Maraquita on this subject, and to make her cognisant of his affection?’ ‘Oh, Mr Courtney, where can your eyes be? How blind you men are! Why, he has been at the poor child’s feet for twelve months past; and Quita has kept him gently off, fearing to deprive you of a valuable servant; but now it has gone too far, and I feel it is time I spoke.’ ‘I thought he admired her, and told him there was no hope for him, some little time back; but he assured me I was mistaken. I offered, at the same time, to forward his marriage with Lizzie Fellows, but he declared that there was no engagement between them.’ ‘Then he has been deceiving you all round, and is not worthy of your trust and confidence. He _was_ engaged to Lizzie. She told Quita so yesterday, only he broke it off on account of this disgraceful affair at the bungalow. But all the while he has been persecuting our poor girl with his addresses, until she is positively afraid of him, or what he may do.’ ‘But what can he do? Surely he has not dared to threaten her?’ ‘He has said he will kill her at the very altar, sooner than she shall marry Sir Russell, or any other man, and has thrown the poor child into such a state of distress and perturbation, that I feel certain, unless her mind can be set at complete rest concerning him, it will greatly retard her recovery.’ ‘But it _must_ be set at rest. This is quite unbearable!’ exclaimed the planter, striding up and down the room; ‘De Courcelles must leave Beauregard at once. I shall give him his dismissal this afternoon.’ ‘Not this afternoon, Mr Courtney. Wait until we are safe on the hill range, and then send him straight away. Maraquita will have no peace until she hears that he is gone.’ ‘Fancy the presumption of his aspiring to the hand of our daughter!’ continued Mr Courtney indignantly. ‘A man without a sixpence beyond his weekly stipend, and no chance of increasing that. It is the most barefaced impudence I ever heard of. He shall get the sack before he is a day older.’ ‘But you will do it on some other pretence I hope, Mr Courtney. You will not bring in Quita’s name. I should be sorry for it to get known that he dared to fall in love with her. People are so ill-natured; they might say she had given the fellow some encouragement.’ ‘They will not dare to say anything against _Lady Russell_,’ said the father triumphantly. ‘When do you start for the hill range, my dear; and when is the wedding to be?’