Who was that woman who had asked to see her brother, as they started, and for the sake of whom James had left her with the carriage, and had gone back into the yard, returning to her with a face so dark and terrible that she had not dared even to speak to him until they reached the town. It could not be _that one_, because he had already seen her, and had come to some understanding with her--so he said--but it might be some relation, indignant and suspicious, some reptile who knew they were going and who wished to have a bribe! James always made a pretence of being soft and kind, but she did not believe he could be outwitted easily; in all that she knew of his dealings, especially with women, she had found him to be still more unscrupulous than herself. He had indulged himself from his childhood onwards, and it is impossible to do so without being unscrupulous. This most recent, most wretched entanglement might have been easily avoided, if during their time of probation he had possessed the slightest self-restraint. Indeed the habitual recklessness of the brother and the sister had never been more displayed than during those few months of village life--that short time of waiting upon the pleasure of their uncle, during which they had every inducement to be cautious and self-restrained. Ah, bah! that was true, thought Tina; but those village months were over, they had left that ‘detestable hamlet, that pest-house of the Fens’--and now that they found themselves in the midst of pleasures it would be more natural to be self-controlled. At length they were really in the house of Mr Lee; it would not be easy for them to be removed; every day would make it more difficult as each day would make less anxious the dangers that their imprudence had gathered round their feet. Mr Lee once charmed! that was the whole brunt of the matter, and Tina had never been without skill in charming men! She rose to her feet, and stood upright, pretty Tina! her arms clasped behind her back, and her face very slightly raised, whilst her eyes appeared to be flooded with eager light and hope, in which there was only the least trace of terror left. Upon the bed lay her new black evening dress, her black silk slippers, and her great, embroidered fan--her cheeks were so brilliant and burning that they would need no touch of rouge, nor her dark eyes the slightest assistance to make them bright enough. Was that the drawing-room door? there were sounds of footsteps, voices!--how strange that the least noise was enough to make her start! She would be quick, and dress, and go downstairs for the evening, it would be better for her brother to have her woman’s wit by his side. This evening once over, this dear, nervous, terrible evening, their position would be more certain, and they could feel secure.