of course they are also mine," replied Henrietta, with desperate calmness.
The man left the room, and she sank back, pale and cold, on the sofa; but her agony was too great for fainting. There could be but one motive for Lord Marchmont's conduct; and yet she felt almost grateful to him. He had not exposed her to general comment: Sir George Kingston was only excluded among others. She had not given him credit for so much delicacy; it touched her to the heart: she felt capable of any sacrifice to repay it.
At that moment she heard Lord Marchmont's step upon the stairs. A world of agony was in the next few moments; every slow and heavy step of her husband fell, like a death blow, upon Henrietta's ear. The door opened, and she cowered among the cushions of the couch. She had resolved to confess all, to implore his pardon, to submit never to see Sir George again; but now the words died upon her lips, and there she leant, pale and breathless, with what just seemed to herself
