'Why, Selina!'
'Yes, yes, I remember all about them now: the daughter was your great friend.'
'She was more yours,' said Marian, 'when you were at Fern Torr, because you were more nearly the same age. Don't you remember how you used to whisper under the sycamore tree, and send me out of the way?'
'Poor little Marian! Well, those were merry times, and I rather think your Agnes promised to be very pretty.'
'And shall not you be glad to see her?'
'When do they come?'
'Next Monday, to--Cadogan Place.'
'Close to you. Well, that is lucky; but now, my dear, if you can come down from the clouds for a moment, I want to tell you about Lady Julia.'
'Who is she?' said Marian, bringing back her attention with an effort.
'A tiresome woman,' whispered Selina, with a sort of affectation of confidence; 'but the fact is, Lord Marchmont used to know her husband, or his father, or his great grandfather, sometime in the dark ages, and so be wants me to make much of her. She is one of the people that it is real toil to make talk for; but by good fortune I remembered that I had heard some legend about her once knowing my uncles, and so I thought that a cross-examination of you about Gerald and Fern Torr would be a famous way of filling up the evening.'
'O!' said Marian in a not very satisfied tone, 'so she has a husband, has she? I fancied from your note that she only consisted of herself,'
'She consists of a son and daughters,' said Selina.
'Her husband is dead, but the rest of the house you will presently see.'
'Eh?' said Lord Marchmont, coming out of the other room where he had been writing, and greeting Marian.
'You don't mean that you have invited that young Faulkner?'
'You would, not have me leave out the only agreeable one of the party--something to sweeten the infliction.'
Lord Marchmont smiled at the arch, bold, playful manner with which she looked up in his face, as if to defy him to be displeased; but still he was evidently vexed, and said, 'It is hard upon Marian only to take her from Elliot Lyddell's society to bring her into Mr. Faulkner's.'
'Indeed! but that is hard on Mr. Faulkner,' said his wife. 'As to worth, I suppose he and Marian's cousin are pretty much on a par, but it is but justice to say that he has considerably the advantage in externals.'
'It cannot be helped now,' said Lord Marchmont; 'but I wish I had told you before, Selina. The esteem I had for that young man's father would make me still more reluctant to cultivate him, considering his present way of going on.'
'Well, one invitation to dinner is not such a very agricultural proceeding, that you need waste such a quantity of virtuous indignation,' said Selina; 'I daresay he will not grow very much the faster for it.'
The arrival of some of the party put a stop to the conversation, and presently Lady Julia Faulkner, Mr. and Miss Faulkner, were announced. The first was a fair, smooth, handsome matron, who looked as if she had never been preyed upon by either thought or care; her daughter was a well-dressed, fashionable young lady; and her son, so gentlemanlike and sensible looking, as to justify Lady Marchmont in saying that in externals he had the advantage of Elliot Lyddell. Marian sat next him at dinner, and though she meant to dislike him, she could not succeed in doing so; he talked with so much spirit and cleverness of the various exhibitions and other things, which are chiefly useful as food for conversation. Something too might be ascribed to the store of happiness within her, which would not let her be ungracious or unwilling to let herself be entertained, for on the whole, she had never been so well
