And for a brief moment _I_, too, fancied that he was right—that I _should_ love him—nay, that I was beginning to love him, when suddenly in the doorway appeared the form of one, the very sight of whom curdled my blood for an instant and then sent it bounding through my veins! It was Mr. Delafield. He had nerved himself to see me, to stand face to face with his rival, and bravely did he meet the trial, bowing courteously to Dr. Clayton and smiling kindly down upon me as he bade me good morning. I glanced at him once and saw that his eyes were riveted upon the plain band of gold, which encircled my fourth finger, confirming the truth of what he had just heard from his sister. At last, as if he would test his strength to the utmost, he took my hand and said, as he slowly twirled the ring, which was rather large, “And so you are going from us?” I could not answer, nor was it needful that I should, for without waiting a reply he placed my hand in that of Dr. Clayton, and continued, “As a brother commits a dear sister to the care of another, so commit I to your care my Northern Rose, charging you to watch tenderly over her, for ’tis not every one who winneth such a treasure.” This was all he said; the next moment he was gone, and when, Dr. Clayton, drawing me to his side, told me how he would treasure up the words of _my friend_; I involuntarily shrank away, for the _shadow_ was again around me, and turn which way I would, it whispered to me of another _love_—another _heart_, which I fain would have called my own. That night Dr. Clayton left us, and the very morning after his departure we were surprised by the appearance of Ada, who came unexpectedly to us all. “She was tired of living with that old fidgety Mrs. Johnson,” she said, “and would rather come home.” Much as Mrs. Lansing liked Ada, she would rather she had stayed away until I was gone, for she was in constant dread lest the falsehood she had told me concerning her brother’s engagement should in some way be betrayed. But there was no help for it, and as one _sin_ always calls for another, so she must now conjure up something with which to meet the emergency. Accordingly, Ada was told that “somehow or other I had received the impression that she was engaged to Mr. Delafield, and that it was as well to let me think so; for though I probably liked Dr. Clayton well enough, she (Mrs. Lansing) fancied that I liked her brother better, and that if I supposed there was the slightest chance of winning him, I would not hesitate to discard the doctor.”