"I shall, dear Lady Esmondet; au revoir."
"How greedily the gossips will partake of the dish in preparation for them! What an exciting scene we shall have!" said Vaura, as dinner over and servants dismissed, the friends chatted over a cup of coffee before retiring.
"Yes, indeed, dear; oh! if Lionel could only find this Mrs. Clarmont, with whom they said he eloped, and that she would reveal the facts, what a triumph!"
"But, if in reality; this Major Delrose was her favoured lover, he may yet have influence enough over her to stay her tongue," said Vaura, thoughtfully.
My own fear, dear, especially as I believe there was a child."
"And you say that in the bygone he was an admirer of my uncle's wife?"
"So Dame Rumour hath it."
"So, so, we all aim at something; the Delrose ambition was to pose as king o' hearts. Strange freak of fortune, that this all comes into the Haughton life; we must now only hope that the clouds in our sky will soon disperse. But, god-mother darling, we had best follow the advice of the liege lord of the wilful Katherine, and 'to bed.'"