‘Oh no, don’t!’ cried Maud coaxingly. ‘The evenings are so dull without you. Never mind Aunt Celia. She is quite horrid. Let her come again if she wants you. I believe it was just a lie.’ ‘Come, little sister, don’t be spiteful. I know Mrs. Belassis does not greatly love either of us, still we must be civil as long as we can, or we put ourselves at a disadvantage.’ ‘I know I do,’ assented Maud. ‘I can’t manage as you do; I wish I could. She would give anything to be able to put you into a rage as she puts me; but she never can.’ Tor smiled calmly. ‘Just so; and I have no intention of affording her that gratification.’ ‘It must be nice to be a man—a man like you, I mean,’ said Maud, regarding him with a loving admiration distinctly flattering to its object. Then, after a pause, she added, ‘I wonder what Aunt Celia really came for.’ ‘You think she had some ulterior motive?’ ‘I don’t need to think—I _know_ she had,’ cried Maud. ‘I saw it by the look in her eye—just like a snake. I haven’t lived eighteen years in Thornton House for nothing, Phil.’ ‘Phil’ rode on in silence, wondering if there could be any truth in Maud’s surmise; for he was convinced that Mrs. Belassis was his enemy, and a more dangerous one than her husband. Pondering, however, did not bring him any nearer the truth; so he gave up puzzling his head about the matter, and determined to take this opportunity to speak to Maud about Lewis Belassis. ‘Maud,’ he began, ‘when is your birthday?’ ‘Three weeks next Wednesday,’ answered the girl promptly. ‘And you will then be twenty-four?’ ‘Yes.’ Maud looked at him, and he looked at her, and then she broke into a little soft laugh. ‘You dear old Phil, you are so handsome! I wish I could marry you!’ A curious thrill ran through Tor, and his eyes were eloquent, but he only answered coolly enough: ‘But as you cannot—what then, Maud?’ ‘I don’t know,’ she answered; and her face took the spoilt-child expression which thoughts of Lewis Belassis almost always brought. ‘You have not made up your mind?’ ‘No; I can’t.’ ‘But it will be expected of you soon, will it not?’ ‘Yes, I suppose so. I know on my birthday I am to hear the will read, and a letter papa left with it for me. I believe I shall be expected to give my answer then, though the money can’t be divided till a little while later. Phil, do you think it would be unfair to Lewis to keep him waiting any longer?’ ‘I don’t think you’ll gain anything by waiting, Maud. I should say the wisest plan would be to get the matter off your mind, one way or the other, as soon as you can. I imagine you’ll feel exactly as you do now, a year hence, in regard to Lewis. If you haven’t fallen in love with him all these years, you are hardly likely to do so now.’