“I called at the house-agent’s in my way here, and have obtained the particulars of two houses which it will be quite worth your while to look at; one is in Belgrave Square, the other in Park Lane.” As he spoke, Kate raised her head and fixed her large eyes upon his face; but he appeared unconscious of having deserved her scrutiny, and was quietly examining some memoranda he had written on the back of a card, regarding the number of rooms and other particulars respecting the houses. So perfectly unconscious was his manner, that for once Kate’s penetration was at fault. She remembered having on one occasion, months before, at the Grange, mentioned in his presence that if she went to live in London she should prefer either Belgrave Square or Park Lane for her residence; but whether _he_ also had recollected this, or whether his selection was the result of accident, she could not decide. Moreover, it was not easy for her to determine how to act in the matter. If he had made the selection intentionally, and she allowed it to pass unnoticed, it would be a sort of tacit admission that she was willing to receive such secret attentions from him, appreciating them as kindnesses rather than resenting them as impertinences; while, on the other hand, if by any chance it was a mere coincidence, she was unwilling to afford him even the minute triumph of perceiving that she felt sufficient interest in him to remember whether or not he had been present on an occasion, since which several months had elapsed, or that she cared to know if he had observed, or regarded her wishes. So she took a middle course, and, availing herself of a pause in the conversation, inquired carelessly-- “Where did you say the houses were situated, Mr. D’Almayne?” On obtaining the information she required, she added, “And how came you to select those particular localities?” As he turned to reply, their glances met, but his face was perfectly inscrutable. “If, as your tone implies, they do not meet your approval, my dear Mrs. Crane, we need take no farther trouble in regard to them,” was his ambiguous reply. “I chose them because I fancied situations so generally popular might not be displeasing to you.” Kate was again foiled, and D’Almayne, as he quietly observed it, muttered inwardly, “Won the first trick, at all events!” Mr. Crane, leaving the room to put on his great-coat, a precaution without which he was most careful not to stir from home, D’Almayne observed,-- “You would prefer bay carriage-horses to grey, or any more conspicuous colour, would you not?” Surprised at his having thus discovered her taste, Kate was so far thrown off her guard as to exclaim,-- “How in the world do you know that?” Horace smiled a quiet smile. “I reasoned from analog,” he said; “your dress is always rich and striking, but never showy; and the effect is produced by its consistency as a whole.”