Lady Bell's heart beat fast. "But--but--" she said, "you have plenty." "Of which Jack will not take one penny. You see he is as proud as he is poor." "I like him for that," murmured Lady Bell. "Yes, so do I; though it pains and grieves me. If Jack would permit me to help him, Lady Bell, he might marry Una Rolfe tomorrow; but as it is, I fear, I am anxious. Another man would be wiser, but Jack has no idea of prudence, and would plunge head first into all the misery of such a union without a thought of the morrow." "And you--you think he loves her," murmured Lady Bell; and she waited for an answer as a man on his trial might wait for the verdict of the jury. Stephen smiled. He could read Lady Bell's heart as if it were an open book. "Loves her! No, certainly not--not yet. He is amused and entertained, but love has not come yet." "And she?" asked Lady Bell, anxiously, her eyes fixed on Una's face. Stephen smiled again. "No, not yet. She is ignorant of the meaning of the word. I have taken some trouble to arrive at the truth, and I am sure of what I say. It is well for her that she is not, for anything like a serious engagement would be simply madness. Poor Jack! His future lies so plainly before him, and if he would follow it, the rest of his life might be happiness itself." "You mean that he should marry for money," said Lady Bell, coldly. "No, not for money alone," murmured Stephen. "Jack is too high-minded to be guilty of such meanness; but is it not possible to marry for love and money, too, Lady Bell?" Lady Bell turned her head aside; her heart beating fast. The voice of the tempter sounded like music in her ear. Why should not he marry for love as well as money? She had both. She loved him passionately, and she would pour her money at his feet to do as he liked with; to squander and make ducks and drakes of, if he would but give her a little love in return. As she looked across the room at him, that awful, wistful longing which only a woman who loves with all her heart can feel, took possession of her and mastered her. "Why do you tell me this?" she asked, sharply turning her face, pale and working. "Because," murmured Stephen, "because I have Jack's interest so much at heart that I am bold enough to ask for aid where I know it can be of avail." "Do you mean that you ask _me_?" she said, tremulously. "What can I do?" "Much, everything," he whispered, his head bent low, almost to her ear. "Ask yourself, dear Lady Bell, and you will understand me. Let me be plain and straightforward, even at the risk of offending you. There was a time, not many months ago, when I and his best friends thought Jack had made a choice at once happy and wise." Lady Bell rose and moved to and fro, and then sank down again trembling with agitation. "You mean that--that he was falling in love with me?" Stephen inclined his head with lowered eyes.