"I am going to South Africa early in October," was his reply, "and cannot take my dear little son with me: he must remain in England. Now, this house is quite to my liking. It is large, and airy and well drained and not far from the seaside. I know a lady, a special friend of mine, who will come to look after Ralph, and he can have the best masters at Eastbourne and a daily tutor who will come out here to instruct him. But all these advantages are not sufficient. He must have a companion. There is in my opinion no companion so suitable for all that Ralph requires as Robina Starling; and I am going to see her father to-morrow in order to make arrangements for her to remain with him." "And not go back to Abbeyfield?" said Harriet. Her voice was low. It was getting dusk too, and Mr Durrant could not very well see her face. "Robina would not go back to school?" she repeated. "In that case, no; but she would lose nothing thereby; for I should make it a personal matter, and would see that her education was thoroughly finished at my expense. She is a clever girl, and I can give her not only the very best masters, to develop what talent she possesses, but would eventually send her to Girton, where I understand she greatly longs to go." Harriet was quite silent. "You approve, don't you?" said Mr Durrant, scarcely knowing why he asked the question. Harriet gave a little gasp. "You are very, very good," she said: "you have done a great deal for the girl that Ralph likes best. Is the girl who is to stay with him while you are away to be the girl he likes best, or the girl you like best? Hitherto, it has been the girl he likes best. Is that to be the case still?" "I hope so, indeed I trust that he will like Robina best." "Because you do," said Harriet. "Yes, Harriet," said Mr Durrant. "I like her; she is honest, and honourable. She has never, to my knowledge, done an underhand thing: I could not stand underhand ways in the companion who has to be so much in the society of my little son. I love honour before all things--honour and truth: they are the pillars in which the whole character must be raised to any sort of strength or perfection. I believe Robina to be both honourable and truthful." "Yes," said Harriet: "you would not let her have the charge of Ralph if she had not these qualities." "Certainly not: but she has. I will wish you good-night now. I hope you will be quite well on Monday evening when I return from my visit to the Brown House." Mr Durrant left the room, and Harriet lay back in her deep, easy chair, lost in thought. Once again she said to herself: "That horrid girl is about to supplant me. I wonder, oh, I wonder!" She thought long and hard. Book 2--CHAPTER EIGHT. MR DURRANT VISITS BROWN HOUSE.