"Can I do anything for you?" asks Guy, following him, glad of any excuse that makes him quit Lilian's side.

"Yes,"—smiling,—"you can, indeed. Take your ward down-stairs and give her a glass of wine. She is too pale for my fancy. I shall be having her on my hands next if you don't take care." So saying, he disappears.

Guy turns coldly to Lilian.

"Will you come down, or shall I send something up to you?" he asks, icily.

Lilian's fears have subsided; consequently her spirits have risen to such a degree that they threaten to overflow every instant. A desire for mischief makes her heart glow.

"I shall go with you," she says, with a charming grimace. "I might blame myself in after years if I ever willingly failed to cultivate every second spent in your agreeable society."

So saying, she trips down-stairs gayly beside him, a lovely, though rather naughty, smile upon her lips.


CHAPTER _XXVII.

"Claud.—In mine eye, she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on."—Much Ado About Nothing.