"We are afraid of every thing," said Lucia bitterly. "Lydia Egerton is afraid--though you might not think so. And, as for me, nobody knows what a coward I am but myself. Yes, I am a coward! When grandmamma looks at me, I tremble. I dare not speak my mind, and differ with her, when I know she is unjust and in the wrong. No one could say that of Miss Octavia Bassett." "That is perfectly true," said Mr. Burmistone; and he even went so far as to laugh as he thought of Miss Octavia trembling in the august presence of Lady Theobald. The laugh checked Lucia at once in her little outburst of eloquence. She began to blush, the color mounting to her forehead. "Oh!" she began, "I did not mean to--to say so much. I"-- There was something so innocent and touching in her sudden timidity and confusion, that Mr. Burmistone forgot altogether that they were not very old friends, and that Lady Theobald might be looking. He bent slightly forward, and looked into her upraised, alarmed eyes. "Don't be afraid of _me_" he said; "don't, for pity's sake!" He could not have hit upon a luckier speech, and also he could not have uttered it more feelingly than he did. It helped her to recover herself, and gave her courage. "There," she said, with a slight catch of the breath, "does not that prove what I said to be true? I was afraid, the very moment I ceased to forget myself. I was afraid of you and of myself. I have no courage at all." "You will gain it in time," he said. "I shall try to gain it," she answered. "I am nearly twenty, and it is time that I should learn to respect myself. I think it must be because I have no self-respect that I am such a coward." It seemed that her resolution was to be tried immediately; for at that very moment Lady Theobald turned, and, on recognizing the full significance of Lucia's position, was apparently struck temporarily dumb and motionless. When she recovered from the shock, she made a majestic gesture of command. Mr. Burmistone glanced at the girl's face, and saw that it changed color a little. "Lady Theobald appears to wish to speak to you," he said. Lucia left her seat, and walked across the room with a steady air. Lady Theobald did not remove her eye from her until she stopped within three feet of her. Then she asked a rather unnecessary question:-- "With whom have you been conversing?" "With Mr. Burmistone." "Upon what subject?" "We were speaking of Miss Octavia Bassett." Her ladyship glanced around the room, as if a new idea had occurred to her, and said,-- "Where _is_ Miss Octavia Bassett?" Here it must be confessed that Lucia faltered. "She is on the terrace with Mr. Barold." "She is on"-- Her ladyship stopped short in the middle of her sentence. This was too much for her. She left Lucia, and crossed the room to Miss Belinda.