he esteemed himself no less remarkable a person than he appeared in the eyes of his sisters, and his vanity had been encouraged by Mr. Lord’s favour.  Of his qualities as a man of business there was no doubt; in one direction or another, he would have struck the road to fortune; why Nancy should regard him with condescension, and make him feel at once that his suit was hopeless, puzzled him for many a day.  He tried flattery, affecting to regard her as his superior in things of the intellect, but only with the mortifying result that Miss.  Lord accepted his humility as quite natural.  Then he held apart in dignified reserve, and found no difficulty in maintaining this attitude until after Mr. Lord’s death.  Of course he did not let his relatives know of the repulse he had suffered, but, when speaking to them of what had happened on Jubilee night, he made it appear that his estimate of Miss.  Lord was undergoing modification.  ’She has lost him, all through her flightiness,’ said the sisters to each other.  They were not sorry, and felt free again to criticise Nancy’s ideas of maidenly modesty.

The provisions of Mr. Lord’s will could not but trouble the intercourse between Grove Lane and Dagmar Road.  Mr. Barmby, senior, undertook with characteristic seriousness the guardianship conferred upon him.  He had long interviews with Horace and Nancy, in which he acquitted himself greatly to his own satisfaction.  Samuel, equally a trustee, showed his delicacy by holding aloof save when civility dictated a call upon the young people.  But his hopes had revived; he was quite willing to wait three years for Nancy, and it seemed to him more than probable that this period of reflection would bring the young lady to a sense of his merits.  In the meantime, he would pursue with energy the business now at his sole direction, and make it far more lucrative than when managed on Mr. Lord’s old-fashioned principles.

As the weeks went on, it seemed more clear than at first that Nancy resented the authority held by Samuel and his father.  They were not welcome at the house in Grove Lane; the Miss.  Barmbys called several times without being admitted, though they felt sure that Nancy was at home.  Under these circumstances, it became desirable to discover some intermediary who would keep them acquainted with the details of Nancy’s life and of her brother’s.  Such intermediary was at hand, in the person of Miss.  Jessica Morgan.

CHAPTER 2

Until of late there had existed a bare acquaintance between Jessica and the Barmby family.  The two or three hours which she perforce spent in Samuel’s company on Jubilee night caused Jessica no little embarrassment; as a natural result, their meetings after that had a colour of intimacy, and it was not long before Miss.  Morgan and the Miss.  Barmbys began to see more of each other.  Nancy, on a motive correspondent with that which actuated her guardians,