_I looked round for the bandbox_."
"Never mind," said Walter. "He is a great addition. My duties devolve on
him. And I shall be free to--How her eyes shone and her voice mellowed
when she spoke to him! Confess, now, love is a beautiful thing."
"I can not say. Not experienced in beautiful things." And Mary looked
mighty demure.
"Of course not. What am I thinking of? You are only a child."
"A little more than that, _please_."
"At all events, love beautified _her_."
"I saw no difference. She was always a lovely girl."
"Why, you said she was 'a long black thing.'"
"Oh, that was before--she looked engaged."
After this young Fitzroy was generally Miss Clifford's companion in her
many walks, and Walter Clifford had a delightful time with Mary Bartley.
Her nurse discovered how matters were going. But she said nothing. From
something Bartley let fall years ago she divined that Bartley was robbing
Walter Clifford by substituting Hope's child for his own, and she thought
the mischief could be repaired and the sin atoned for if he and Mary
became man and wife.
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