'It is true at any rate, I suppose.' 'Not that I know of. If my uncle and aunt choose to dispose of me, I cannot help it.' 'It is well for girls to be disposed of sometimes. It saves them a world of trouble.' 'I don't know what you mean by that, George;--whether it is intended to be ill-natured.' 'No, indeed. Why should I be ill-natured to you? I heartily wish you to be well and happy. I daresay M. Urmand will make you a good husband. Good-bye, Marie. I shall be off in a few minutes. Will you not say farewell to me?' 'Farewell, George.' 'We used to be friends, Marie.' 'Yes;--we used to be friends.' 'And I have never forgotten the old days. I will not promise to come to your marriage, because it would not make either of us happy, but I shall wish you well. God bless you, Marie.' Then he put his arm round her and kissed her, as he might have done to a sister,--as it was natural that he should do to Marie Bromar, regarding her as a cousin. She did not speak a word more, and then he was gone! She had been quite unable to tell him the truth. The manner in which he had first addressed her made it impossible for her to tell him that she was not engaged to marry Adrian Urmand,--that she was determined, if possible, to avoid the marriage, and that she had no love for Adrian Urmand. Had she done so, she would in so doing have asked him to come back to her. That she should do this was impossible. And yet as he left her, some suspicion of the truth, some half-formed idea of the real state of the man's mind in reference to her, flashed across her own. She seemed to feel that she was specially unfortunate, but she felt at the same time that there was no means within her reach of setting things right. And she was as convinced as ever she had been, that her uncle would never give his consent to a marriage between her and George Voss. As for George himself, he left her with an assured conviction that she was the promised bride of Adrian Urmand. CHAPTER VI.