"No, Charles,--not since you parted from her. I heard her enter her room and lock the door. The answer you have received from her surprises me more, and vexes me more, than even my mother's." "Bless you, Helen! you are a true sister and a true friend. I will go to Sir Gilbert;--but it rains hard--I wish I had the cab, or my own dear mare to ride. But that's a minor trouble;--it irks me though, for it comes from the same quarter." "It does indeed;--and it irks me too, believe me. But patience, Charles!--courage and patience will do much." "Will it give me the heart of the woman I love, Helen?--or rather, will it give her a heart? It is that which galls me. I have been deceived--trifled with, and have loved with my whole heart and soul a most heartless, fair-seeming coquette." "That you have not, Charles!" replied Helen warmly; "that you have not! I too have mistaken Rosalind's feelings towards you. Perhaps she has mistaken them herself: but she is not heartless; and above all, there is no seeming about her." "How I love you for contradicting me, Helen!--and for that bright flush that so eloquently expresses anger and indignation at my injustice! But if she be not a coquette, then must I be a most consummate puppy; for as I live, Helen, I thought she loved me." "I cannot understand it. But I know that Rosalind Torrington is warm-hearted, generous, and sincere; and whatever it is which has led us to misunderstand her, either now or heretofore, it cannot be coquetry, or false-seeming of any kind." "Well--be it so: I would rather the fault were mine than hers. But I will not see her again to-day if I can help it. So good-b'ye, Helen: my lady must excuse my toilet;--I cannot dress and then walk through Oakley lane." CHAPTER XIV. THE ENTRY. It was very nearly midnight when Mowbray returned from his visit to Sir Gilbert Harrington's. To his great surprise, he found Helen waiting for him, even in the hall; for the moment she heard the door-bell she ran out to meet him. "Why are you up so late, Helen?" he exclaimed: "and for Heaven's sake tell me what makes you look so pale.--Where is Rosalind?" "She is in bed;--she has been in tears all day; I made her go to bed. But, oh, Charles! my mother!--she has left the house." "Gracious Heaven! what do you mean? Did she leave the house in anger? Did she ask for me?" "No, Charles: nor for me either!" "And where on earth is she gone?" "No one in the house has the remotest idea: it is impossible even to guess. But she has taken Fanny and Curtis with her." "When did she set out?"