Her proud, passionate heart instantly arose in rebellion against the cruel fate which decreed that the sweetest hopes of her life must be blighted; that the love of which she had dreamed all her life, and which had grown into her soul so strong and deep, must be denied her, just as she had begun to feel so sure of winning it. That the girl was peerlessly beautiful, and of a more delicate and refined type than herself, she realized with a pang of jealousy, and she was conscious, too, that Rupert was bringing her straight toward her, doubtless with the intention of introducing her. Unlike her mother, she had a moment in which to compose and brace herself before meeting her rival; and, calling all her pride to her aid, she looked the picture of brilliant, happy maidenhood when Rupert reached her side. “Lillian,” he said, “I wish to introduce you to a friend; Miss Alexander—Miss Linton.” Lillian put forth her daintily gloved hand without a tremor, and, with a dazzling smile, expressed her pleasure at making her acquaintance. “Miss Alexander is an American,” Rupert explained, and Lillian’s heart sank; a sudden faintness seemed to come over her at his words. Her brother Percy’s prophecy had been verified; he had fallen in love with this girl while on his tour in the United States. But she would rather have died than betrayed anything of her dismay before the girl, and looking straight into Virgie’s clear eyes, she said, brightly: “Ah! then I suppose you have recently come abroad, as I have not met you before.” “Yes, we were passengers on the same steamer with Mr. Hamilton,” Virgie answered, “and we owe him a great deal, for he was very kind to us—mamma and me.” “And how do you like England and English people?” “Very much,” Virgie replied, smiling, while her eyes turned instinctively to Rupert, as if she judged the whole nation by her estimate of him. Lillian shut her white teeth together viciously as she saw the look and Rupert’s answering smile, and she wondered what her mother would say when she learned that her uncle’s ward had bestowed his heart upon a hated American. “Have you ever been in the United States, Miss Linton?” Virgie asked, wholly unconscious of the disturbance which her presence was creating. “Yes, I traveled considerably there one summer several years ago.” “And were you pleased with my country?” “Well, of course America is very different from England, and I like my own land best, although America has some grand scenery,” Lillian responded. “But mamma came near losing her life there in a terrible railway accident, and I was only too glad to get safely home again.” “Oh!” said Virgie, with a quick indrawn breath, “I remember; we were on that very train. Is that Lady Linton your mother?” “Yes; how strange that you should have been in that accident, too?” returned Lillian, greatly surprised. “Were you injured?”