"If Reginald Eversleigh knows I am here, constantly cognizant of the state of affairs, and prepared to act for your advantage, he will not dare to come here and compromise you by his violent and unreasonable jealousy; he will be forced--it is needless to explain how--to keep his envy and rage to himself, and to suppress the enmity with which he regards Douglas Dale. Let me tell you, Madame Durski, Reginald's enmity is no trifling rock ahead in life, and your engaged lover has that rock to dread." Paulina turned very pale. "Save him from it, Mr. Carrington," she said, appealingly. "Save him from it, and let me have a little happiness in this weary world, if such a thing there be." "I will, Madame Durski," replied Victor. "You have already done as I have counselled you, and you have no reason to regret the result." The soft, dreamy smile of happy love stole over Paulina's face as she listened to him. "Let me be here with you as much as possible, and you will have no reason to fear Reginald. He is capable of anything, but he is afraid of me, and if he knows that I am determined to advance the marriage of yourself and Douglas Dale, he will not venture to oppose it openly. But there is one condition which I must append to my frequent presence here"--he spoke as though he were conferring the greatest favour on her--"Mr. Dale must not know me as Victor Carrington." With an expression in which there was something of the suspicious quickness which Miss Brewer had manifested when Carrington made a similar statement to her, Paulina asked him why. Then Victor told her his version of the story of Honoria Eversleigh, the "unfortunate woman," whom Douglas Dale's unhappy and misguided uncle had raised to such undoubted rank and fortune, and the wild and absurd accusations the wretched woman had made against him. "Mr. Dale never saw me," said Victor, "and I know not whether he was thoroughly aware of the absurdity, the insanity of this woman's accusations. At all events, I don't wish to recall any unpleasantness to his mind, and therefore I venture to propose that I should visit here, and be introduced to him as Mr. Carton. The fraud is a very harmless one; what do you say, Madame Durski?" Paulina had her full share of the feminine love of mystery and intrigue, and she consented at once. "What can the name matter," she thought, "if it is really necessary for this man to be here?" "And there is another consideration which we must take into account," said Victor; "it is this. Mr. Dale may not like to find any man established here, in the degree of intimacy to which (in your interests) I aspire; and therefore I propose, with your leave, to pass as a relation of Miss Brewer's--say, her cousin. This will thoroughly account for my intimacy here. What do you say, Madame Durski?"