"No."
"Anna Vivian?"
"I know," says Beatrice, nodding her head sagely; "it is that girl who lives with the Daintrees."
"Beatrice, how silly you are!" cries her mother.
Tom Esterworth turns round in his chair, and looks at his niece.
"By Jove, you've hit it!" he exclaims. "What a clever pussy you are to be sure."
And then the soul of the member's wife became filled with consternation and disgust.
"Well, I call it downright sly of John Kynaston!" she exclaims, angrily; "picking out a nobody like that behind all our backs, and keeping it so quiet, too; he ought to be ashamed of himself for such an unsuitable selection!"
Beatrice laughed. "You know, uncle Tom, mamma wanted him to marry me."
"Beatrice, you should not say such things," said her mother, colouring.