“You were very foolish ever to commit to paper anything concerning that American escapade.”
“I suppose I was, but I always keep a diary; there are many things of importance that I like to remember accurately, and a diary is so convenient to refer to—it has saved me many mistakes.”
“It would have been far better if you had destroyed that year’s notes, as I advised you,” returned Mrs. Farnum.
“But it was full of important data, and I never dreamed that anything could happen to it—it was very careless of you to lose it,” said her ladyship, complainingly.
“I know it was, and I have suffered a great deal of anxiety on account of it; for, of course, with all those names and dates, I am implicated almost as much as yourself. Why don’t you go around to her lodgings and get it at once?—your mind will be at rest then. If the seal has never been broken, you are as safe as if it had never been lost.”
“True; I believe I will,” Lady Linton answered, brightening.
She followed the advice of her friend the very next day, and, calling at Mrs. Alexander’s lodgings, was shown at once up to her private parlor.
There was no one there when she entered, but presently Virgie came in, looking charming in her morning robe of mauve cashmere, with blue silk facings, and greeted her ladyship politely, although with some reserve.
“You wished to see mamma,” she said, “but I am obliged to receive you as she is not in just now. Can I do anything for you, Lady Linton?”
“I wished to see Mrs. Alexander personally,” returned Lady Linton, haughtily. “Will she return soon?”