Miss Wharf tapped him on the shoulder with the very fan, about which there had been so much talk. "No I can't spare you," she said amiably. "I want to chat with you. Olivia?" The girl exchanged a look with her husband and saw that his eyes were fastened on the fan. Resolved to give him a chance of talking to her aunt about it, she moved away on the arm of the buccaneer to join in the whirling throng. Forge offered his arm to Miss Pewsey, not to dance, but to escort her on to the terrace, and so it came about that aunt Sophia and Rupert were left alone in a quiet corner of the room. Miss Wharf cast a side glance at the young man and seeing how handsome and gay he was, she heaved a sigh. Perhaps she was thinking of his father whom she had loved dearly, but if so, the emotion was only momentary, for she compressed her lips and drew herself up stiffly. "Mr. Ainsleigh," she said, "you never come to see me now. How is that?" "I thought you did not wish to see me," said Rupert frankly. "Oh yes I do. Your father was an old friend of mine, and for his sake I wish to be kind to you." Rupert saw that she was unaware that he had met Olivia secretly, and had heard the story of the early romance. It was not wise, he thought, to bring up the subject, so he met her on her own ground. "You can be very kind to me if you wish," he said casting a significant glance on Olivia who floated past with Burgh. Miss Wharf followed his gaze and frowned, shaking her head. "No," she said severely, "you must give up the idea of marrying Olivia." "I can't do that," replied Rupert, thinking of his secret marriage, "and I don't see why you should refuse to let me love her." "I can't prevent that," snapped Miss Wharf, "love her as much as you choose, but as another man's wife," and again she looked oddly at Rupert, who wondered what she meant. "What an immoral remark," he said, "perhaps you will explain." "Mr. Ainsleigh I will be frank with you," said the lady calmly, "you have no money, and are liable to lose Royabay. I hold a mortgage it is true and by the end of the year I can foreclose; but that, I shall not do if you give up Olivia. If I foreclose, you know well enough that your other creditors will come down on you, and you will lose all. I hold the scales," added she significantly. "I see that well enough Miss Wharf, but many things may happen before the end of the year." "You mean that you will get the money to pay me and others?" "I might even mean that," answered Rupert coolly, "and if I am a bad match, I don't think Mr. Burgh is a better. I have at least a position and a clean name." "What do you know about Clarence Burgh?" she asked quickly. "Nothing, save that he is an adventurer, Miss Wharf. He comes from nowhere, and swaggers about Marport as if it belonged to him. He has no recognised position and he is not a gentleman." "Oh but he is, and I want him to marry Olivia." "And thus you would condemn Olivia to misery. She loves me--"