Gertrude and I hope you will make your
home with us, though Lady Caroline insists
on claiming you for some portion of the
year."

"You are all of you very good, George,"
said Maud; "you know how much I should
love to be with you and Gerty, and what
gratitude and affection I have for Lady
Caroline. But I don't think the life you
have proposed would exactly suit me."

"Not suit you, Maud?" cried Mr.
Benthall, in astonishment; " why, what
would you propose to do?"

"I cannot say exactly, though I have
some ideas about it which I can't clearly
express. You see I shall never be married,
George, don't laugh at me, please, I'm
speaking quite seriously, and there is this
large sum of money which uncle left me, and
which I don't think should be either
squandered away or left lying idle!"

"Why, my dear, what on earth do you
propose to do with the money?" asked
practical Mr. Benthall.

"To put it to some good use, I hope;
to use it and my own time and services
in doing good, in benefiting those who
need it—-"

"You're not going to give it to the
missionaries, or any rubbish of that kind,
I trust," interrupted Mr. Benthall. "Look
here, Maud, depend upon it – oh! here's
her ladyship, don't say a word about it
before her. Good morning, Lady Caroline!
This young lady and I have been
discussing the propriety of writing to Mrs.
Creswell announcing Gertrude's
approaching marriage."

"I don't think there can be a doubt as
to the propriety of such a course," said
Lady Caroline. "Of course, whatever she
might say about it would not make the
slightest difference to us."

"Of course not."

"But I don't think you need fear any
disagreeables. Mrs. Creswell is in a very
different position now to that which she
held when she thought fit to behave badly
to those young ladies, and their relations
with her are also quite altered. And by all
accounts she is quite sufficient woman of the
world to understand and appreciate this."

Lady Caroline was right. In reply to
Gertrude's letter announcing her marriage,
came a most affectionate note from Marian
to her "dearest Gertrude," congratulating
her most heartily; complimenting her on
her choice of a husband; delighting in the
prospect of their living so near to her;
hoping to see much of them; regretting
that her recent bereavement prevented her
being present at the ceremony, or having
it take place, as she should so much have
wished, at Woolgreaves, and begging
permission to send the enclosed, as her
contribution to aid in the setting up of the new
household; and the enclosure was a cheque
for three hundred pounds.

Mr. Benthall winced a little when he
saw the cheque, and Mr. Joyce gave a very
grim smile when his friend informed him
of the affair; but advised Mr. Benthall to
pocket the money, which Mr. Benthall did.
As has been said, he did not pretend to
despise money; but he was essentially a
gentleman in his notions as to the
acceptance of favours. He had thought several
times about that conversation with Maud,
in which she had mentioned the manner in
which she had wished to dispose of her
fortune and her future. This had caused
Mr. Benthall some uneasiness; he had no
hankering after his future sister-in-law's
fortune; there was nothing he would have
liked so much as to see her happily
married; but he did not like the idea of the
money being foolishly invested in useless
charity or gotten hold of by pseudo-
philanthropists. A conversation which he had
with Gertrude a few days before their
marriage seemed, however, to do away with
all his fears, and render him perfectly easy
in his mind on this point. A short
conversation which ended thus:

"And you're sure of it, Gerty?"

"Positive! I've thought so a longtime—
now I'm sure! And you must be a great
goose, George, not to have noticed it
yourself."

"I am not a great goose, and I certainly
had some suspicions at one time;but—-
Well, now, that would be highly
satisfactory."

"Do you think there is anything remaining
from – from the other one, George?"

"From the other one? You mean from
Mrs.—- Not the remotest thought of her
even."

"Well, then, it rests with him entirely.
Wouldn't it be nice for them both?"

"It would, indeed; and for us too. Well,
we'll see what can be done."

Enigmatical, but apparently satisfactory.

So George Benthall and Gertrude
Creswell were married at St. James's Church
in Piccadilly, by the Reverend John
Bontein, a High Church rector of a Worcestershire
parish, and an old college chum of
the bridegroom's. A very quiet wedding,