"But, my dear child, how can you be?"
"You forget that I went out as governess, and so had the opportunity of studying those things. Trust me and see. I shall go at once to Madame Francois, the head court milliner, and you will be satisfied, I am sure, with the result."
"I shall be delighted, I am sure, if that be the case," said the earl. "Then you will want jewels. Studleigh jewels are very fine ones—I suppose we have the finest jewels in the world."
"Why will they not do for me, then?" she asked.
"Because they must go to my wife. The family jewels are always the property of the reigning Countess of Linleigh."
"But, papa, there is no reigning Countess of Linleigh," she said, with a little laugh.
"No, my dear—not just at present; but I hope that there soon will be."
His face flushed slightly, and he looked confused for a few moments. Then he said:
"That is another of the things I want to speak to you about. I ought, perhaps, to tell you that I think of marrying again."
There was a few minutes of dead silence. She did not quite like it; it was not what she had expected. She had anticipated being mistress of Linleigh Court. The earl continued: