"I might, had I considered; but I did not consider."
"And I may suppose myself warranted in conveying to my friend this explanation, together with the fullest apology for the mischief you have unknowingly caused."
"Most certainly."
"Then, sir," said Hargrave, rising, "however deeply I may regret the mistake which has arisen between you and Miss Villars, I feel bound to offer my testimony to the sincerity of your purpose."
"Thank you, thank you," cried Beauclerc; "where I was wrong, was, perhaps, in believing the possibility of a friendship of so much warmth existing between a young girl of singular attraction, and myself, a married man."
"Why, yes," replied Hargrave, sternly; "I am not a married man myself, yet I have my own peculiar, and, perhaps, very strict notions of the duties of married life, which would scarcely admit of the freedom you have allowed yourself."
"You open my eyes," said Beauclerc, as if a sudden idea had occurred to him; but then, remembering he was speaking to a stranger, he colored, and was silent.
Hargrave, unwilling to intrude on his private confidence, by any further remark, immediately wished him good morning, extending his hand, as he did so. Beauclerc shook it warmly, thanking him for his patience and temper, and, with many repeated assurances of regret, suffered him to withdraw.
He immediately went to Clair, who was waiting for him, with some impatience, and, in a few words, repeated the subject of his interview.
"There," he said, in conclusion, "I have done my best, and so I think have you. It is as I suspected—Beauclerc had really no intention of doing harm—and Lucy would have suffered none, had she not jumped to the conclusion that, of course, he admired her. We cannot, with the best will in the world to serve her, atone for the consequences of her own folly—and this, I fear, she has displayed in the whole affair. What a pity it is that girls possessing so many natural attractions should not wait to be sought."