"No. You have never been a grandmother to me. I will be now," Lady Ipsen tried to soften her grim face; "I wish I'd seen you before," she added, "you're a true Delham, with very little of that bad Strode blood in you, unless in the obstinacy you display. I'll take you away from this Mrs. Palmer, Eva----" "I have no wish to leave Mrs. Palmer." "You must. I won't have a granddaughter of mine remain in a situation with a common woman." "Leave Mrs. Palmer alone, Lady Ipsen. She is a good woman, and when my relatives forsook me she took me up. If you had ever loved me, or desired to behave as you should have done, you would have come to help me when my father was murdered. And now," cried Eva, rising with flashing eyes, "you come when I am settled, to get me to help you with your schemes. I decline." The old woman, very white and with glittering eyes, rose. "You intend then to marry Allen Hill?" "Yes, I do." "Well then, you can't," snapped the old woman; "his mother isn't respectable." "How dare you say that?" demanded Eva angrily. "Because I'm accustomed to speak my mind," snapped Lady Ipsen, glaring; "it is not a chit like you will make me hold my peace. Mrs. Hill was in our family as a governess before your father married my daughter Jane." "What of that?" "Simply this: a valuable diamond necklace was lost--an heirloom. I believe Mrs. Hill stole it." Eva laughed. "I don't believe that for one moment," she said scornfully. "Mrs. Hill is a good, kind, sweet lady." "Lady she is, as she comes of good stock. Sweet I never thought her, and kind she may be to you, seeing she is trying to trap you into marrying her miserable son----" "Don't you call Allen miserable," said Eva, annoyed; "he is the best man in the world, and worth a dozen of Lord Saltars." "That would not be difficult," said Lady Ipsen, sneering; "Saltars is a fool and a profligate." "And you expect me to marry him?" "To save him from disgracing the family." "The Delham family is nothing to me," said Eva proudly; "look after the honour of the family yourself, Lady Ipsen. As to this talk about Mrs. Hill, I don't believe it." "Ask her yourself, then." "I shall do so, and even, if what you say is true, which I don't believe, I shall still marry Allen." "Eva," the old lady dropped into her seat, "don't be hard on me. I am old. I wish you well. It is true what I say about Mrs. Hill. You can't marry her son." "But I can, and I intend to." "Oh, this marriage--this disgraceful marriage!" cried the old woman in despair, "how can I manage to stop it. This Miss Lorry will be married to Saltars soon, if I can't put an end to his infatuation." Eva shrugged her shoulders. "I can give you no help." "You might plead with Saltars." "No. I can't do that. It is his business, not mine. Why don't you offer Miss Lorry a sum of money to decline the match?"