“What not from me? Very well.” “If you present me with yourself, it is all that I ask.” Sandford moved upon his chair, as if he sat uneasy. “Why then, Miss Woodley,” said Miss Milner, “_you_ shall have the present. But then it won’t suit you—it is for a gentleman. I’ll keep it and give it to my Lord Frederick the first time I meet with him. I saw him this morning, and he looked divinely—I longed to speak to him.” Miss Woodley cast, by stealth, an eye of apprehension upon Lord Elmwood’s face, and trembled at seeing it flushed with resentment. Sandford stared with both his eyes full upon him: then threw himself upright on his chair, and took a pinch of snuff upon the strength of the Earl’s uneasiness. A silence ensued. After a short time—“You all appear melancholy,” said Miss Milner: “I wish I had not come home yet.” Miss Woodley was in agony—she saw Lord Elmwood’s extreme displeasure, and dreaded lest he should express it by some words he could not recall, or she could not forgive—therefore, whispering to her she had something particular to say, she took her out of the room. The moment she was gone, Mr. Sandford rose nimbly from his seat, rubbed his hands, walked briskly across the room, then asked Lord Elmwood in a cheerful tone, “Whether he dined at home to-day?” That which had given Sandford cheerfulness, had so depressed Lord Elmwood, that he sat dejected and silent. At length he answered in a faint voice, “No, I believe I shall _not_ dine at home.” “Where is your Lordship going to dine?” asked Mrs. Horton; “I thought we should have had your company to-day; Miss Milner dines at home, I believe.” “I have not yet determined where I shall dine,” replied he, taking no notice of the conclusion of her speech. “My Lord, if you mean to go to the hotel, I’ll go with you, if you please,” cried Sandford officiously. “With all my heart, Sandford—” and they both went out together, before Miss Milner returned to the apartment. CHAPTER VIII. Miss Woodley, for the first time, disobeyed the will of Mr. Sandford; and as soon as Miss Milner and she were alone, repeated all he had revealed to her; accompanying the recital, with her usual testimonies of sympathy and affection. But had the genius of Sandford presided over this discovery, it could not have influenced the mind of Miss Milner to receive the intelligence with a temper more exactly the opposite of that which it was the intention of the informer to recommend. Instead of shuddering at the menace Lord Elmwood had uttered, she said, she “Dared him to perform it.” “He dares not,” repeated she. “Why dares not?” said Miss Woodley. “Because he loves me too well—because his own happiness is too dear to him.” “I believe he loves you,” replied Miss Woodley, “and yet there is a doubt if——” “There shall be no longer a doubt,” cried Miss Milner, “I’ll put him to the proof.” “For shame, my dear! you talk inconsiderately—what can you mean by proof?”