"'Tis well!" nodded the Imp; and with a wave of his hand he turned
and scrambling up the bank disappeared. Of the existence of Mr.
Selwyn I was already aware, having been notified in this particular
by the Duchess, as I have told in the foregoing narrative. Now, a
rival in air - in the abstract, so to speak - is one thing, but a
rival who was on a sufficiently intimate footing to deal in personal
compliments, and above all, one who was already approved of and
encouraged by the powers that be, in the person of Lady Warburton
- Lisbeth's formidable aunt - was another consideration altogether.
"Miss Elizabeth. you're prettier than ever!"
Somehow the expression rankled. What right had he to tell her such
things? - and in a summer-house, too; - the insufferable audacity of
the fellow!
A pipe being indispensable to the occasion, I took out my matchbox,
only to find that it contained but a solitary vesta.
The afternoon had been hot and still hitherto, with never so much
as a breath of wind stirring; but no sooner did I prepare to strike
that match than from somewhere - Heaven knows where - there came a
sudden flaw of wind that ruffled the glassy waters of the river and
set every leaf whispering.
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