Then with a sigh and a smile he placed the bluebell in his pocketbook with the muttered words, "Good-bye to my first courtship! We have drifted apart as suddenly as we met!" CHAPTER IV OLD FRIENDS FIFTEEN years after. A London drawing-room on a bright spring afternoon. It was Lady Chatterton's at home day, and the room was fairly filled with well-dressed men and women; the hostess moving in and out amongst them with that nameless charm of tone and manner that made her so popular in society. Standing by the entrance door were two men, one a fresh arrival, who looked around him with amused curiosity. "I am not a society man," he was saying to his friend; "and it always strikes me at these kind of gatherings what an awful waste of time it is. I am not at home amongst perfumed silks and satins." "Nonsense, man! Now you are known as old Sir Peter's heir, you will be made welcome anywhere. Dozens of these young ladies will be charmed to make your acquaintance." "Who is that girl in grey by the window?" asked the former speaker, rather abruptly. "She is Lady Chatterton's niece. Fresh at it, as you see. This is the beginning of her first season. I took her into dinner last night, and I assure you her conversation was original in the extreme. She has very serious views of life, and credits all these men and women of fashion with the same noble sentiments as herself. Would you like to be introduced? Come along." A moment after, and Rufus Tracy was by the side of a tall graceful girl, who turned at once and spoke to him in sweet, measured tones. She was strikingly beautiful, with delicately-cut features, and soft dark eyes that seemed to view her surroundings somewhat wistfully, as if seeking for something that she had not found. She was perfectly self-possessed and at ease amidst the throng; yet her thoughts seemed far-away, and she answered Rufus's two or three casual remarks so absently that he could not help smiling. "Are you in town for long?" he asked. Then she looked at him gravely. "I am leaving it to-morrow." "So soon? Then you are only a bird of passage. I don't expect you care about town, do you? I hate it." "I think I like it. There is so much to see and hear—so much to interest one; but I am going to stay with an old aunt who lives in the country. She wants me at once." "I wonder Lady Chatterton can spare you." The girl smiled. "I am afraid she is not pleased about it, as it alters all her plans for me. But my aunt, Mrs. Warren, is old and lonely, and now very unwell, so, of course, her claims come first." "Rather hard lines for you." "Oh, no. I would rather be with those who really need me. There is no self-denial in it. Derbyshire is a lovely county, and I shall enjoy the change. I shall not be far from Haddon Hall." Rufus looked interested at once. "Why, that is very near to my place," he said. "Perhaps we shall meet again; for I am on my way there now." She shook her head.