But all day Tuesday he had seen no time that he could escape from the company of which he seemed to be the center. He had about made up his mind to ask Mr. Richards to direct him to No. 56 —— street after dinner, and go away to spend a quiet evening with Star; but Mrs. Richards upset this plan by laying out a programme in which he would be obliged to figure largely, and he was forced to bear it with what patience he could, hoping that the morrow would bring him the opportunity he desired. He had never imagined that he could be a guest in the very house which he was so anxious to visit, and which was the home of his beloved; and now the knowledge was not pleasing to him, for Star’s bitter words, and the fact that she had not mingled with the family, told him but too plainly how she was undervalued there. How she must have suffered, sitting at her window, as she said she had done, and been a witness to the reception which had been tendered him by her proud, cold-hearted relatives; and to have been led, too, by them to believe that he had come there as a suitor for Josephine’s hand. This had been rather a startling and unpleasant revelation to him, for he had never once imagined that any such construction would be put upon his visit there. He had been drawn toward Mrs. Richards upon first meeting her, for she was really a fascinating woman, and upon learning that she was of English extraction, and that he knew something of her relatives, he at once felt almost like an old acquaintance, and in this way had been led to attach himself to her party. Josephine was a brilliant and attractive girl, and had made herself very agreeable to him, and he liked her as a friend and acquaintance; but no thought of love for her had ever entered his mind. That fair face, with its crown of gold, its starry eyes and coral lips, which had lain upon his breast at sea, had made too deep an impression upon his heart to be easily forgotten. But now, just as he thought he had won her—when he was on the verge of claiming her, he found himself in deep waters, from which he feared it might be somewhat difficult to extricate himself. Star had a right to denounce him, believing what she did. He had parted from her on Saturday evening as Archibald Sherbrooke and her accepted lover, while on Monday she had seen him driven in great style to the Richards’ mansion, and greeted as Lord Carrol, and a suitor for the brilliant Josephine’s hand. Surely circumstances were against him. “I must get out of this muddle as soon as possible,” he said, as he ascended the steps and paused a moment on the porch to consider what he ought to do. Entering the house, he avoided the drawing-room, where a gay company was assembled, and passed on to a music-room which led into the library. Mr. Richards was in the latter room, seated at his desk, and the door between the two was open. As he saw his lordship, he arose and came forward to meet him.