She could not keep the eagerness she felt out of her tones. He glanced at her curiously, ignoring her reason for the question. “You are a gypsy’s child,” he answered, hoping to humiliate her. “Not yours?” she cried, a ray of unmistakable relief flashing into her face. “Not yours! Oh, thank Heaven!” In an instant he saw his mistake. The thought that she owed him neither reverence nor respect had come as a joyful relief to her. “You are my daughter,” he said, harshly, “and you have to obey me. Fortunately for you, no one suspects the truth, or you would certainly not have been honored by an offer of marriage from the heir to Lord Northborough.” He had purposely chosen such words in alluding to her mother that Stella might infer that she had no legal title to the name she bore. The object he had in view was to humble her pride, and whether or not he broke her heart at the same time was a matter of perfect indifference to him. As he finished speaking, she began to move toward the door. A mist seemed to hang before her eyes, and she was trembling so much that her feet could hardly bear her weight; but she was as proud as he, and fully resolved that he should not see the full effect of his words upon her. “Understand,” he called after her, “your marriage will take place early in May.” She turned and faced him at the door. “Lord Carthew shall hear to-night every word that you have said to me. Then, as you suggest, he will cease from troubling me.” “I forbid you to exchange one word with him on the subject.” Joining her by the door, he gripped her arm in his fingers as he had done in the morning. The pain of his clutch was intense, but she never winced under it. “It is my duty to tell him, Sir Philip,” she said, as though she were addressing a stranger. “Go to your room at once, and do not presume to leave it until you have my permission.” “As you please. But as soon as I meet Lord Carthew, he shall hear every word.” Baffled and furious, he released his hold on her arm, and following her upstairs, he watched her enter her own room, and drawing out the key, turned it on the outside, and slipped it into his pocket. He had totally miscalculated the effect upon her of the announcement he had made. He imagined that it would lower her pride to the dust, and break down once and forever her opposition to his will. But she had gone from the study with head erect and flashing eyes; and so far from dreading lest the secret of her humble birth should become known, she had instantly decided upon sharing it with the last person in the world who ought to be made aware of it.