after a glance to assure herself that the pair were in earnest conversation, Isabella put on a straw hat and ran lightly away to see her lover. She passed out by a side door, danced like a fairy across the intervening space of lawn, and slipped laughingly into the narrow path which wound through the wood to the avenue near the gates. Just as she emerged into the open she heard a sharp click, and saw Maurice approaching. He was dressed in his flannels, and looked particularly handsome, she thought; the more so when she beheld his face lighting up at her unexpected appearance. The magnetism of love drew them irresistibly together, and in less time than it takes to write, Isabella was lying on the broad breast of her lover and he was fondly kissing her lips. "My own dear love," he murmured, softly. "How good of you to meet me." "I came down here to escape Dido," explained Isabella, slipping her hand within his. "You don't like her to be with us." "I don't like her in any case, my darling. She is like a black shadow of evil always at your heels. I must get your mother to forbid her trespassing upon our meetings." "My dear Maurice, how can you possibly do that, when you refuse to tell my mother of our engagement?" "Oh, I had a reason for keeping our engagement secret, but it is no longer necessary, and to-day--at this moment--I am going straight to ask your mother to give me this dear hand in marriage. If she consents, we will soon get rid of Dido." "But my mother may not consent," said Isabella, a trifle nervously. "Why not? I have a profession and a small property. We love one another dearly, so I don't see what grounds she has for refusal." "Dido!" "Well, Dido can do nothing," said Maurice, in a jesting tone, "unless you want her to forbid the banns." "She may even be able to do that," replied Isabella, seriously. "My mother is afraid of her, and is often influenced in her decisions by Dido." "What, the black witch? Bah! She is only a servant." "She is something more than that in Barbadoes."
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