"Engaged to John Derrick, and I have been speaking so thoughtlessly about him! She is a great deal too good for him."
"No, no, the young man is well enough, and will make her an excellent husband; but you will understand that for your own happiness, it will be better to see as little as possible of her for the future, so I do not expect to see much of you in town when I return, and for the present I think you had better go back to your chambers."
"Has not Lady Eveline been coerced into this engagement?" asked Gerald.
"Oh! no, nothing of the kind. Indeed, Mr. Derrick asked her in the first place, and she very properly referred him to Lord Darlington, and so the matter was settled. There is no such thing as coercion or compulsion now-a-day. It is altogether a most delightful arrangement, and I am quite sure that Lady Eveline has no desire to break it off. Your attentions might make her uncomfortable and unhappy, but they can do nothing further, and I am quite sure that as an honourable man you must feel what you ought to do under the circumstances."
Gerald Staunton took the advice of his hostess, and left Gower's Court at once, and Eveline knew that he had given up all hope of her, but
