centred. How would he---- Wait, though! She was not so sure of what she was saying. Who was this Lady Caroline Somebody of whom he wrote so strongly? Two or three times he had mentioned her in his letters. Marian recollected having smiled at Walter's first description of this great lady, who, though he tried to disguise it, had evidently been struck with him; but now she seized on the idea with quite a different object in view. Suppose she should carry out what she had in her mind, it would be expedient for her to show to the world--to such portion of the world as chose to be inquisitive or indignant about her proceedings--that all shame, so far as breaking off the original engagement was concerned, did not rest with her, that Walter himself had not kept faith with---- She broke off the thread of her thought abruptly, she could not battle with herself, she knew how vain and ridiculous the accusation would be, how the object of it would shake it from him with scorn; but it had a certain semblance of truth and likelihood, and it would do to bring forward, in case any such defence was ever needed. "Well, missy," said Mr. Creswell, looking up from the papers on which he was engaged, "you see I've been compelled to send for my assistant; I couldn't get on without her." "Your assistant is only too glad to come when she finds she can be of use to you, sir. Has the pass-book come from the bank, and did you get those returns you asked for from the Wharfdale Company?" "What a memory you have, child! I declare I had forgotten what had stopped our work the other morning. I remembered only that you would have gone on until you dropped, but for want of material. Yes, they are both here." "I see; and the totals both approximate to the sums you mentioned. There will be no difficulty now in preparing the rough balance-sheet. Shall I begin that at once?" "No, no, missy; that is too large an undertaking for you. I'll have that done down at the office. I'm only too thankful to you for the assistance you've rendered me in getting the items into order, and in checking matters which I could not possibly have submitted to an uninterested person, and which I'm--well, I'm afraid I must say it--too old to go into myself!" "Since you praise me, I have a right to claim a reward, and I demand to be allowed to carry out my work to the end. I shall be proud of it, proud to think that, when next these accounts are gone through, you will be able to look at mine, and see that they do no discredit to your book-keeping pupil." There was a slight change in Mr. Creswell's voice as he said-- "My child, I don't suppose this task will occur again, in my lifetime. It would have stood over well until my poor boy came of age, had it pleased God to spare him; but I have only done it now from a renewal of the old stock-taking habit, a desire to see how my worldly affairs stood before----" But the voice broke, and the sentence was left unfinished.