"Oh? he merely thought that you had something on your mind—some annoyance which worried you——" "He is an impertinent fellow!" cried the rector, thrown off his guard by the alarming announcement that a change in his behaviour had been observed. "He only speaks out of kindness, sir—as I do," observed the housekeeper, with a deep sigh. "Well, well, Mrs. Kenrick," said the rector, vexed at his own impatience: "I was wrong to mistrust the excellence of his motives. To tell the truth, I have had some little cause of vexation—the loss of a large sum—through the perfidy of a pretended friend—and——" The rector floundered in the midst of his falsehood; but the old housekeeper readily believed him, and was rejoiced to think that he had at length honoured her with his confidence in respect to the cause of that restlessness which she had mistaken for a secret grief. "But no one else has made any remark, my dear Mrs. Kenrick?" said the rector, in a tone of conciliation "I mean—no one has questioned you—or——" "Only Lady Cecilia Harborough sent yesterday afternoon to request you to call upon her, sir." "Ah!—well?" "And of course I said to her servant-maid that you were not at home. She came back in the evening, and seemed much disappointed that you were still absent. Then she returned again, saying that her mistress was ill and wished to consult you upon business." "And what did you tell her, Mrs. Kenrick?" "That you had not returned, sir," answered the housekeeper, surprised at the question, as if there were any thing else to tell save the truth. "The servant-maid seemed more and more disappointed, and called again as early as eight o'clock this morning." "This morning!" echoed Reginald, seriously annoyed at this repetition of visits from Lady Cecilia's confidential servant. "Yes, sir; and when I said that you had not been home all night, she appeared quite surprised," continued the housekeeper. "And you told her that I had not been home all night?" mused Reginald. "What must Lady Cecilia think?" "Think, sir?" cried the housekeeper, more surprised still at her master's observations. "You can owe no account of your actions, sir, to Lady Cecilia Harborough." "Oh! no—certainly not," stammered the rector, cruelly embarrassed: "I only thought that evil tongues——" "The Reverend Reginald Tracy is above calumny," said the housekeeper, who was as proud of her master as she was attached to him. "True—true, Mrs. Kenrick," exclaimed the rector. "And yet—but, after all no matter. I will go and call in Tavistock Square at once; and then I can explain——"