Paul did not deign to answer him. He saw that Frost did not intend to be pleased with anything he did, and that there was no use in trying to conciliate. “I hate that boy!” reflected Frost, following Paul with a venomous expression. “My mother is perfectly right. He’s a dangerous visitor. We must get rid of him one way or another.” Paul drove around to the front of the house and found Mrs. Granville ready at the door--with the housekeeper at her side. “I do hope you won’t meet with an accident,” said Mrs. Mercer with an air of deep solicitude. “Frost is ready to drive you. It will be safer.” “Thank you, my good Mercer, but Paul tells me he understands driving.” “I shouldn’t mind if she broke her neck,” muttered the housekeeper, following the carriage with her eyes, “if I only knew it was all right now in her will.” CHAPTER XXXIII. A STARTLING DISCOVERY. Paul proved a satisfactory driver, and the old lady’s fears were soon dissipated. “You drive better than Frost Mercer,” she said in a tone of satisfaction. “I am glad to hear you say so, Mrs. Granville,” said Paul, well pleased. “Frost nearly upset me one day. I don’t think he is generally intemperate, but I suspect he had been drinking something that day.” “He doesn’t seem to like me,” Paul ventured to say. “What makes you think so?” Hereupon Paul related his reception when he went to the barn to harness the horses. Mrs. Granville listened thoughtfully. “He should not have acted so,” she said; “I presume he didn’t like the idea of being superseded.” “Has he been with you a long time?” “He and his mother have been in my service for a long time. I think Mrs. Mercer is of a jealous disposition. She never wishes me to have any one here, but she is very faithful and loyal.” “I wonder if that is the case,” thought Paul. The housekeeper did not seem to him like one who would be unselfishly devoted to the service of any one. Several days passed. Every day Mrs. Granville rode out, sometimes in the forenoon, sometimes in the afternoon, and the effect was perceptible in her improved health and spirits. “It is fortunate for me that you came here,” she said one day. “Before you came I rode out only once or twice a week. It seems to do me great good to drive every day.” “Why did you not go out every day, Mrs. Granville?” asked Paul. “Frost did not seem to like the trouble of going out with me,” she answered. “He often sent word that he was at work, and could not go conveniently.” Paul wondered whether he was engaged smoking in the barn. In his guess he came near the truth. “Besides,” added the old lady, “I did not like to ride out with him as well as with you.” Paul thanked her for the compliment. “I like to talk with you, but Frost was not very social, and we had very little conversation.”