"But I want you to judge me. I want you of all the world to feel that I have not been a liar and a blackguard." "Captain De Baron! how can you use such language?" "Because I feel this very acutely. I do believe that Miss Mildmay has accused me to you. I do not wish to say a word against her. I would do anything in the world to protect her from the ill words of others. But I cannot bear that your mind should be poisoned against me. Will you believe me when I tell you that I have never said a word to Miss Mildmay which could possibly be taken as an offer of marriage?" "I had rather give no opinion." "Will you ask Adelaide?" "No; certainly not." This she said with so much vehemence that he was thoroughly startled. "Mrs. Houghton is not among the number of my acquaintances." "Why not? What is the matter?" "I can give no explanation, and I had rather that no questions should be asked. But so it is." "Has she offended Lord George?" "Oh dear no; that is to say I cannot tell you anything more about it. You will never see me in Berkeley Square again. And now, pray say no more about it." "Poor Adelaide. Well; it does seem terrible that there should be such misunderstandings. She knows nothing about it. I was with her this morning, and she was speaking of you with the greatest affection." Mary struggled hard to appear indifferent to all this, but struggled in vain. She could not restrain herself from displaying her feeling. "May I not ask any further questions?" "No, Captain De Baron." "Nor hope that I may be a peacemaker between you?" "Certainly not. I wish you wouldn't talk about it any more." "I certainly will not if it offends you. I would not offend you for all the world. When you came up to town, Lady George, a few months ago, there were three or four of us that soon became such excellent friends! And now it seems that everything has gone wrong. I hope we need not quarrel--you and I?" "I know no reason why we should." "I have liked you so much. I am sure you have known that. Sometimes one does come across a person that one really likes; but it is so seldom." "I try to like everybody," she said. "I don't do that. I fear that at first starting I try to dislike everybody. I think it is natural to hate people the first time you see them." "Did you hate me?" she asked, laughing. "Oh, horribly,--for two minutes. Then you laughed, or cried, or sneezed, or did something in a manner that I liked, and I saw at once that you were the most charming human being in the world."