"Not worth what, Pauline?"
"Not worth the price I must pay."
"What is the price?" asked Miss Hastings, calmly.
"My independence, my freedom of action and thought, my liberty of speech."
"Do you seriously value these more highly than all that Sir Oswald could leave you?"
"I do—a thousand times more highly," she replied.
Miss Hastings was silent for some few minutes, and then said:
"We must do our best; suppose we make a compromise? I will give you all the liberty that I honestly can, in every way, and you shall give your attention to the studies I propose. I will make your task as easy as I can for you. Darrell Court is worth a struggle."
"Yes," was the half-reluctant reply, "it is worth a struggle, and I will make it."
But there was not much hope in the heart of the governess when she commenced her task.