of several of their acquaintance, and upon the care with which mothers
concealed the age of their daughters. Glances passed between Lady
Catharine and Lady Anne.

'For my part,' said Miss Broadhurst, 'my mother would 'labour that point
of secrecy in vain for me; for I am willing to tell my age, even if
my face did not tell it for me, to all whom it may concern. I am past
three-and-twenty--shall be four-and-twenty the 5th of next July.'

'Three-and-twenty! Bless me! I thought you were not twenty!' cried Lady
Anne.

'Four-and-twenty next July!--impossible!' cried Lady Catharine.

'Very possible,' said Miss Broadhurst, quite unconcerned.

'Now, Lord Colambre, would you believe it? Can you believe it?' asked
Lady Catharine.

'Yes, he can,' said Miss Broadhurst. 'Don't you see that he believes it
as firmly as you and I do? Why should you force his lordship to pay a
compliment contrary to his better judgment, or to extort a smile from
him under false pretences? I am sure he sees that you, ladies, and I
trust he perceives that I, do not think the worse of him for this.'

Lord Colambre smiled now without any false pretence; and, relieved at
once from all apprehension of her joining in his mother's views, or of
her expecting particular attention from him, he became at ease with Miss
Broadhurst, shelved a desire to converse with her, and listened eagerly
to what she said. He recollected that Grace Nugent had told him that