“I was almost sorry that he could not come again. He was so handsome and distinguished-looking I became quite interested in him. It is very fortunate he happened to be in the park at the time of the accident. He was as tender as a woman bringing you home with him, and then carrying you into the house and up here like a baby in his arms. Though to be sure, no young man would object to such a lovely burden. I am sure this Doctor Ludington liked it; he held you so close to his heart and put you down so reluctantly. It is rather strange that I have never heard of him before in New York. He told me he was of the ---- Hospital, and that alone is a guarantee of his ability and high standing, so I shall send him a card to our next reception.” The pale, trembling girl lay silent, yet swallowing every word with avidity. When she heard how he had brought her home and carried her upstairs in his arms, so tenderly that he seemed reluctant to put her down, her heart throbbed with delight and a faint blush colored her cheek, so that she dared not lift her eyes lest her aunt should read in them the story of her passionate love. She dared not confess he belonged to her shadowed past, the story of which her proud father had bidden her never to betray even to her aunt. She must remain silent and try to repress the love flaming anew in her tortured heart. It was an accident that had brought them together again, but the meeting was not likely to be repeated. Doctor Ludington would avoid her in his wounded pride, he would never accept the invitation Mrs. Hamilton meant to send him. Yet how strange that he should be in New York and without her knowledge. She wondered how long he had been there, and if he had seen her before. When Mrs. Hamilton observed that Eva was still trembling very much, she exclaimed: “But perhaps I am making you worse, my dear, chatting to you at this rate.” “Oh, no, auntie, I could listen to you forever,” declared Eva, with enthusiasm. “That is very flattering,” smiled the lady, without suspecting that it was the subject of her talk that made it of such thrilling interest to her pretty niece. The maid here suggested that her young lady might feel more comfortable if she exchanged her tight cloth gown for a loose robe, and on Eva’s assenting, Mrs. Hamilton left the room to send a messenger to find out something about her stepson, whether he had escaped uninjured or not. She met Mr. Somerville coming up the stairs in a rush with a pale, alarmed face to see his daughter. He had just learned of the accident, and told his sister that Reginald Hamilton had been thrown from his sleigh in the park, and sustained some painful though not serious injuries, so that he would very likely be confined to his room for a week. “We have cause to be grateful to Heaven that both were not killed,” he said very seriously, as he passed on to Eva’s apartments.