Flossy, lying on a sofa and holding a fan over her eyes, as though to shut out the sight of her husband's bowed shoulders and venerable white head, answered languidly-- "You forget that you did only half of what you were expected to do. You would not consent to a definite engagement until she should be eighteen years old; she is eighteen now, and yet you are holding back. Suspense of such a sort is very trying to a girl." The General, who had been standing beside her, sat down in a large arm-chair and looked very vexed. "I don't care," he said obstinately--"I'm not going to have my little girl disposed of in such a hurry! She shall not be engaged to anybody just yet; and until she is twenty or twenty-one she sha'nt be married. Why, she's had no girlhood at all! She's only just out of the schoolroom now. Eighteen is nothing!" "Waiting and uncertainty are bad for a girl's spirits," said Mrs. Vane. "You can do as you please, of course, about her engagement; but you must not expect her to look delighted over the delay." The General put his hands on his knees and leaned forward mysteriously. "Flossy," he said, "I don't wish to make you anxious, dear; but do you think Hubert really cares for her?" Flossy lowered her fan; there was a touch of angry color in her face. "What are you going to say next, General? Why should Hubert have asked Enid to marry him if he were not in love with her? He had, no doubt, plenty of opportunities of asking other people." "Yes--yes; but Enid is very sweet and very lovely, my dear. You don't often see a more beautiful girl. I should not like her to marry a man who was not attached to her." Flossy controlled her anger, and spoke in a careless tone. "What makes you take such fancies into your head, dear?" "Well--more than one thing. To begin with, I found Enid wandering up and down the conservatory just now, looking as pale as a ghost, with tears in her eyes. I railed her a little, and asked her to tell me what was the matter; but she would not say. And then I asked if it had anything to do with Hubert, and whether she had heard from him lately; and, do you know, Flossy, she has had no letter from him for a fortnight! Now, in my day, although postage was dearer than it is now, we wouldn't have waited a fortnight before writing to the woman that we loved." "Hubert is a very busy man; he has not time for the writing of love-letters," said Flossy slightly. "He ought not to be too busy to make her happy." "You forget too," said Mrs. Vane, "that Hubert has no private fortune. He is working harder than ever just now--toiling with all his might and main to gain a competency--not for his own, but for Enid's sake. Poor boy, he is often harassed on all sides!" She drew a little sigh as if she were sorrowing for him.