said," she continued, genuine concern depicted in her countenance; "sorry if the slur cast by the idle talk of a party of thoughtless girls upon the cousin of your—of our friend, Mr. Wyllys—has wounded or displeased you. Hester does not mean to exaggerate, but she has a wild, careless fashion of talking sometimes. I am convinced there is some great mistake in the story we have heard. The facts—as related by her—are not in keeping with Mr. Fordham's character. If you knew him, you would agree with me in this opinion."
"I do know him, and I quite agree with you."
Jessie was tying on her hat, and the action might have caused the slight quaver and weakness in her voice. It was firmer when she spoke again.
"Mr. Wyllys's cousin"—with unconscious emphasis Fanny imagined was disdainful—"is not a stranger to me. But say nothing to your friends about the acquaintanceship. They might imagine that they had offended me by their strictures. Good-by. I wont keep you longer from them."
Her lips were set and hard to Fanny's soft kiss, and her eyes glowed dangerously, the latter fancied, as she escorted her to the front door. She prudently refrained from further endeavors to heal the breach, if one existed. The case was beyond her art, she saw. She contented herself with a cordial invitation to "run in to-morrow, if you do not think better of your refusal to come to-night," and let her visitor go.
Greatly perturbed, she returned to the others, who had not recommenced their game. They stood about, and leaned upon the billiard-table, instead, busily rehearsing the late scene, accentuating their animated periods by tapping the floor with the cues, and rapping the board with the ivory balls. All except Hester—who sat still upon her lounge and looked sullen. Selina was foremost and loudest in apologetic exclamations.
"Do you know I never thought of his being a relation of Mr. Wyllys until after I had said ever so much? We are ruined! you and I especially, Nettie, and Sue is almost as badly off. She will tell Mr. Wyllys, and he will report us all to his cousin, and won't there be a row?"
"I don't care," said Hester, looking excessively uneasy, nevertheless. "They can't harm me! If she chooses to play the spy upon a confidential conversation, and carry tales to gentlemen, she may. I never liked her from the first."
"I should care, if I believed the conversation would ever reach Mr. Fordham's ears," rejoined Fanny, gravely. "But Mr. Wyllys is no mischief-maker. Nor, for that matter, is Jessie Kirke. My only, or I should say my chief regret is, that we have wounded her. As to her playing the spy, she had no reason to believe the communication you made, Hester, a confidential one."
"She never opened her lips while I was talking! just stood off and listened!" interrupted Hester, hotly, "I call that mean!"
"I am inclined to think it would have been well had the rest of us done likewise," smiled Fanny, willing to give a jocose turn to the matter. "Since we cannot help our blunder, we will try and forget it."
Hester was not to be put off so easily.
"What makes you believe that she will blab to Mr. Wyllys?"
"They are intimate friends—very old acquaintances," replied non-committal Fanny.
"Is he addressing her?" with increasing interest.
"I don't know, Selina! Will you play on my side?"
"In a minute." The volatile Bradley was off at a tangent. "I don't half
