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76 in order to throw Miss Hope off the scent. He had discovered Miss Hope's wishes, and had been flattered and amused by them. He knew that he was a very eligible person; his reception from the Earl and Countess had strengthened his opinion of his importance; but the idea that even the governess's obscure position had not protected her heart from his powers of fascination was rather amusing; so he played the game, with nothing staked on his part and everything on Miss Hope's, with considerable skill and success.

In the mean time, Lady Eveline's negative amount of affection for him had no food but a few short and far from ardent or romantic letters. Indeed, even if he had been a good correspondent, which he was not, a man of average capacity can scarcely write good love-letters to one woman when he is deep in a flirtation with another. His whole powers in that way are forestalled, and even at the best it was Lady Eveline's rank and position that he had been most attached to. Miss Hope's person and manners were far more to his taste, and if her other qualifications had been equally attractive there was no doubt as to whom he should have preferred. He fancied that the style of beauty which Lady Eveline possessed, which was a