almost bowed as he enquired after her health, and the frigidity with which he asked if she ever heard of Lord Chester, froze her recollection of Arthur's animated letters, and they seemed to fade into thin sheets of blank paper.
To own the truth, Colonel Hilton's visit had annoyed her quite as much as it had discomposed Lord Chesterton. His manner was odd and excited, he expressed with needless repetition, his delight at finding her, for once alone; and Blanche tried in vain to believe that he had not attempted to take hold of her hand, as he began some disjointed sentences about past anxieties and present happiness. And it was at this crisis that Lord Chesterton arrived. No wonder he looked astonished, and that she felt almost guilty; and the sound of Aileen's carriage was a relief to them both, there would have been a scene, if their tête-à-tête had lasted much longer, so Blanche hurried her father-in-law into the house; and by the help of Aileen and her London topics, conversation
