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 nothing of him, and saw in the papers that he had gone abroad, I began to think he never had cared about me, but somehow that did not cure me of caring about him, and I was so unhappy, Blanche."

"My darling, I don't wonder; and you never told me a word about all this!"

"I thought I had been so silly; and when the law suit was decided in Alfred's favour, and he came into that immense fortune, Uncle Leigh began to suspect that he had been silly too, for he asked me if he should invite Colonel Hilton to Leigh Hall. Think of the degradation; of course, I said no, decidedly; but I believe Uncle Leigh thought there might be a chance of my meeting him at your house, or he would not so readily have let me come when you wanted me."

"And when you did come, there was I scowling away the very individual you wished to see," said Blanche, again relapsing into one of her laughing fits. "But, however, all's well that ends well; only I wish I knew what had become of the unfortunate Alfred;