"You dear, droll child! You are so original; you have so much character. I always tell Sir Oswald you are quite different from any one else."
And though her ladyship spoke smilingly, she gave a keen, quiet glance at Sir Oswald's face, in all probability to watch the effect of her words.
"Ah, well," she continued, "I suppose that in your position a little singularity may be permitted," and then she paused, with a bland smile.
"To what position do you allude?" asked Miss Darrell.
Lady Hampton laughed again. She nodded with an air of great penetration.
"You are cautious, Miss Darrell. But I am forgetting my news. It is this—that my niece, Miss Elinor Rocheford, is coming to visit me."
She waited evidently for Miss Darrell to make some complimentary reply. Not a word came from the proud lips.
"And when she comes I hope, Miss Darrell, that you and she will be great friends."
"It is rather probable, if I like her," was the frank reply.
Sir Oswald looked horrified. Lady Hampton smiled still more sweetly.