Page:Arminell, a social romance (1896).djvu/189

Rh knew that the girl spent an hour every morning in the music-room practising. She looked up, recovered her distracted thoughts, and resumed her mechanical play on the keys.

"Do you want to speak to me?" she asked, as he took his place beside the grand piano, ready to turn over the leaves of her exercises.

"Yes; what are you playing?"

"I am practising, not playing anything of importance, anything consecutive, a reverie; but one must hack every day, without it all execution goes out of the fingers. It is a pity that hacking with the tongue so many hours a day does not conduce to brilliancy of conversation."

"I should like a few words with you," said the tutor, "if you can spare me the time. I wish to express my regret for having spoken last night. I ought not to have revealed the secret of my birth; but it was burning in my heart, and flamed out at my mouth."

Arminell continued playing and said nothing.

"We must let the matter drop," he said in a low tone. "I will not presume again, if you will endeavour to forget."

"How can I forget? As well dash vitriol in my eyes, and say don't allow them to smart."

He saw that there were tears on her face.

"I am sincerely sorry," he said, "I am heartily penitent. I see I have hurt you. My words were vitriol, and your eyes have overflowed."

"Doubly do you hurt me now—in noticing what should have been left unobserved. I am crying over my dead respect for my father. I loved him in my own queer and wayward fashion, though there was little we had in common. I believed him to be upright and good, and now my faith is gone to pieces."

"We must make allowances," said Jingles. "This happened long ago—I am twenty-one—and Lord Lamerton