“You will return to a life of toil and hardship rather than accept my name and wealth?” “Do not bring that subject up again,” she answered wearily; and he went away in despair, to seek his cousin’s advice. “She is going away, she will be lost to me in the vortex of the wide world! Oh, Lutie, put your wits to work, you women are so shrewd! Is there no way to detain her longer at Gull Beach till she softens toward me?” “I will think it over, and tell you in the morning,” she replied. CHAPTER XI. SHE COULD NEVER FORGET. Daisie was very busy the next morning packing her trunk, when Aunt Alice came upstairs, bringing Mrs. Fleming’s card. “It’s that pretty little lady from Sea View, Mr. Sherwood’s cousin. You must drop everything and go down,” she said, with an authority that admitted no dispute; so Daisie pushed the tumbled lovelocks from her brow with a weary hand, and went down most reluctantly to meet her guest, who had scolded her so vigorously at their last meeting. “Oh, I’m not very welcome, I know,” laughed the little widow gayly. “I behaved badly to you the last time I was here, and, of course, you haven’t forgiven me. But I had some excuse, you will admit; for Royall was my cousin, and you jilted him shamefully, didn’t you, now, Daisie Bell? But don’t be angry, dear; for I came this morning to beg your pardon for the scolding I gave you.” Daisie had sunk into a chair near the open window, where the sunlight filtered through the wistaria leaves and flecked her wavy hair, all loose over her shoulders, with gleams of gold. Mrs. Fleming thought, enviously, that she had never seen any one half so pretty as the girl in her white Empire morning gown. No wonder men raved over her charms, she was so beautiful, and so seemingly unconscious of it all. “It was very silly in me, I dare say,” continued Mrs. Fleming lightly. “I am quite repentant now. Will you forgive me?” Daisie was at a loss for words; she could only listen in silence. “You must forgive me, Daisie; for I have come to ask you a favor. Will you help us up at Sea View in a little entertainment we are going to have to-night--some tableaus and charades?” Daisie opened her lips to refuse, to say that she was going away; but the widow rattled on: “I have just come from seeing poor little Annette, who helped us the last time, and would now, only she is not well enough yet. And she said she was sure you would be willing to take her place, you were always so obliging. Will you?” “Oh, I cannot, Mrs. Fleming, thank you. I am just packing my trunk to return to New York this evening.” “But you can put it off till to-morrow just as well, can you not? Oh, please do, just to oblige me! We have already secured all the available talent about here, but we lack one girl, and had expected Annette to fill that place; so everything is spoiled unless you will oblige us.”