Howbeit, to cover his confusion, he seized upon the second idea that was in his mind, and stammered, “Susy!  Yes, I wanted to speak to you about her.”  Mrs. Peyton held her breath, but the young man went on, although hesitatingly, with evident sincerity.  “Have you heard from any of her relations since—­since—­you adopted her?”

It seemed a natural enough question, although not the sequitur she had expected.  “No,” she said carelessly.  “It was well understood, after the nearest relation—­an aunt by marriage—­had signed her consent to Susy’s adoption, that there should be no further intercourse with the family.  There seemed to us no necessity for reopening the past, and Susy herself expressed no desire.”  She stopped, and again fixing her handsome eyes on Clarence, said, “Do you know any of them?”

But Clarence by this time had recovered himself, and was able to answer carelessly and truthfully that he did not.  Mrs. Peyton, still regarding him closely, added somewhat deliberately, “It matters little now what relations she has; Mr. Peyton and I have complete legal control over her until she is of age, and we can easily protect her from any folly of her own or others, or from any of the foolish fancies that sometimes overtake girls of her age and inexperience.”

To her utter surprise, however, Clarence uttered a faint sigh of relief, and his face again recovered its expression of boyish happiness.  “I’m glad of it, Mrs. Peyton,” he said heartily.  “No one could understand better what is for her interest in all things than yourself.  Not,” he said, with hasty and equally hearty loyalty to his old playmate, “that I think she would ever go against your wishes, or do anything that she knows to be wrong, but she is very young and innocent,—­as much of a child as ever, don’t you think so, Mrs. Peyton?”

It was amusing, yet nevertheless puzzling, to hear this boyish young man comment upon Susy’s girlishness.  And Clarence was serious, for he had quite forgotten in Mrs. Peyton’s presence the impression of superiority which Susy had lately made upon him.  But Mrs. Peyton returned to the charge, or, rather, to an attack upon what she conceived to be Clarence’s old position.

“I suppose she does seem girlish compared to Mary Rogers, who is a much more reserved and quiet nature.  But Mary is very charming, Mr. Brant, and I am really delighted to have her here with Susy.  She has such lovely dark eyes and such good manners.  She has been well brought up, and it is easy to see that her friends are superior people.  I must write to them to thank them for her visit, and beg them to let her stay longer.  I think you said you didn’t know them?”

But Clarence, whose eyes had been thoughtfully and admiringly wandering over every characteristic detail of the charming apartment, here raised them to its handsome mistress, with an apologetic air and a “No” of such unaffected and complete abstraction, that she was again dumbfounded.  Certainly, it could not be Mary in whom he was interested.