MissBlanche——takingnonoticeofherstep-mother’sreproof，orofheruncle’scommentaryonit——pointedtoatableonwhichcroquetmalletsandballswerelaidready，andrecalledtheattentionofthecompanytothematterinhand。
“Iheadoneside，ladiesandgentlemen，“sheresumed。“AndLadyLundieheadstheother。Wechooseourplayersturnandturnabout。Mammahastheadvantageofmeinyears。Somammachoosesfirst。“
Withalookatherstep-daughter——which，beinginterpreted，meant，“Iwouldsendyoubacktothenursery，miss，ifI
could!“——LadyLundieturnedandranhereyeoverherguests。Shehadevidentlymadeuphermind，beforehand，whatplayertopickoutfirst。
“IchooseMissSilvester，“shesaid——withaspecialemphasislaidonthename。
Atthattherewasanotherpartingamongthecrowd。Touswhoknowher，itwasAnnewhonowappeared。Strangers，whosawherforthefirsttime，sawaladyintheprimeofherlife——aladyplainlydressedinunornamentedwhite——whoadvancedslowly，andconfrontedthemistressofthehouse。
Acertainproportion——andnotasmallone——ofthemenatthelawn-partyhadbeenbroughttherebyfriendswhowereprivilegedtointroducethem。Themomentsheappearedeveryoneofthosemensuddenlybecameinterestedintheladywhohadbeenchosenfirst。
“That’saverycharmingwoman，“whisperedoneofthestrangersatthehousetooneofthefriendsofthehouse。“Whoisshe？“
Thefriendwhisperedback。
“MissLundie’sgoverness——that’sall。“
ThemomentduringwhichthequestionwasputandansweredwasalsothemomentwhichbroughtLadyLundieandMissSilvesterfacetofaceinthepresenceofthecompany。
Thestrangeratthehouselookedatthetwowomen，andwhisperedagain。
“Somethingwrongbetweentheladyandthegoverness，“hesaid。
Thefriendlookedalso，andanswered，inoneemphaticword：
“Evidently!“
Therearecertainwomenwhoseinfluenceovermenisanunfathomablemysterytoobserversoftheirownsex。Thegovernesswasoneofthosewomen。Shehadinheritedthecharm，butnotthebeauty，ofherunhappymother。Judgeherbythestandardsetupintheillustratedgift-booksandtheprint-shopwindows——andthesentencemusthaveinevitablyfollowed。“Shehasnotasinglegoodfeatureinherface。“
TherewasnothingindividuallyremarkableaboutMissSilvester，seeninastateofrepose。Shewasoftheaverageheight。Shewasaswellmadeasmostwomen。Inhairandcomplexionshewasneitherlightnordark，butprovokinglyneutraljustbetweenthetwo。Worseeventhanthis，therewerepositivedefectsinherface，whichitwasimpossibletodeny。Anervouscontractionatonecornerofhermouthdrewupthelipsoutofthesymmetricallyrightline，when，theymoved。Anervousuncertaintyintheeyeonthesamesidenarrowlyescapedpresentingthedeformityofa“cast。“Andyet，withtheseindisputabledrawbacks，herewasoneofthosewomen——theformidablefew——whohavetheheartsofmenandthepeaceoffamiliesattheirmercy。Shemoved——andtherewassomesubtlecharm，Sir，inthemovement，thatmadeyoulookback，andsuspendyourconversationwithyourfriend，andwatchhersilentlywhileshewalked。Shesatbyyouandtalkedtoyou——andbehold，asensitivesomethingpassedintothatlittletwistatthecornerofthemouth，andintothatnervousuncertaintyinthesoftgrayeye，whichturneddefectintobeauty——whichenchainedyoursenses——whichmadeyournervesthrillifshetouchedyoubyaccident，andsetyourheartbeatingifyoulookedatthesamebookwithher，andfeltherbreathonyourface。Allthis，letitbewellunderstood，onlyhappenedifyouwereaman。
Ifyousawherwiththeeyesofawoman，theresultswereofquiteanotherkind。Inthatcaseyoumerelyturnedtoyournearestfemalefriend，andsaid，withunaffectedpityfortheothersex，“What_can_themenseeinher!“
Theeyesoftheladyofthehouseandtheeyesofthegovernessmet，withmarkeddistrustoneitherside。Fewpeoplecouldhavefailedtoseewhatthestrangerandthefriendhadnoticedalike——thattherewassomethingsmolderingunderthesurfacehere。MissSilvesterspokefirst。
“Thankyou，LadyLundie，“shesaid。“Iwouldrathernotplay。“
LadyLundieassumedanextremesurprisewhichpassedthelimitsofgood-breeding。
“Oh，indeed？“sherejoined，sharply。“Consideringthatweareallhereforthepurposeofplaying，thatseemsratherremarkable。Isanythingwrong，MissSilvester？“
AflushappearedonthedelicatepalenessofMissSilvester’sface。Butshedidherdutyasawomanandagoverness。Shesubmitted，andsopreservedappearances，forthattime。
“Nothingisthematter，“sheanswered。“Iamnotverywellthismorning。ButIwillplayifyouwishit。“
“Idowishit，“answeredLadyLundie。
MissSilvesterturnedasidetowardoneoftheentrancesintothesummer-house。Shewaitedforevents，lookingoutoverthelawn，withavisibleinnerdisturbance，markedoverthebosombytheriseandfallofherwhitedress。
ItwasBlanche’sturntoselectthenextplayer。
Insomepreliminaryuncertaintyastoherchoiceshelookedaboutamongtheguests，andcaughttheeyeofagentlemaninthefrontranks。HestoodsidebysidewithSirPatrick——astrikingrepresentativeoftheschoolthatisamongus——asSirPatrickwasastrikingrepresentativeoftheschoolthathaspassedaway。
Themoderngentlemanwasyoungandflorid，tallandstrong。ThepartingofhiscurlySaxonlocksbeganinthecenterofhisforehead，traveledoverthetopofhishead，andended，rigidly-central，attheruddynapeofhisneck。Hisfeatureswereasperfectlyregularandasperfectlyunintelligentashumanfeaturescanbe。Hisexpressionpreservedanimmovablecomposurewonderfultobehold。Themusclesofhisbrawnyarmsshowedthroughthesleevesofhislightsummercoat。Hewasdeepinthechest，thinintheflanks，firmonthelegs——intwowordsamagnificenthumananimal，wroughtuptothehighestpitchofphysicaldevelopment，fromheadtofoot。ThiswasMr。GeoffreyDelamayn——commonlycalled“thehonorable；“andmeritingthatdistinctioninmorewaysthanone。Hewashonorable，inthefirstplace，asbeingthesonsecondsonofthatonce-risingsolicitor，whowasnowLordHolchester。Hewashonorable，inthesecondplace，ashavingwonthehighestpopulardistinctionwhichtheeducationalsystemofmodernEnglandcanbestow——hehadpulledthestroke-oarinaUniversityboat-race。Addtothis，thatnobodyhadeverseenhimreadanythingbutanewspaper，andthatnobodyhadeverknownhimtobebackwardinsettlingabet——andthepictureofthisdistinguishedyoungEnglishmanwillbe，forthepresent，complete。
Blanche’seyenaturallyrestedonhim。Blanche’svoicenaturallypickedhimoutasthefirstplayeronherside。
“IchooseMr。Delamayn，“shesaid。
AsthenamepassedherlipstheflushonMissSilvester’sfacediedaway，andadeadlypalenesstookitsplace。Shemadeamovementtoleavethesummer-house——checkedherselfabruptly——andlaidonehandonthebackofarusticseatatherside。A
gentlemanbehindher，lookingatthehand，sawitclenchitselfsosuddenlyandsofiercelythatthegloveonitsplit。Thegentlemanmadeamentalmemorandum，andregisteredMissSilvesterinhisprivatebooksas“thedevil’sowntemper。“
MeanwhileMr。Delamayn，byastrangecoincidence，tookexactlythesamecoursewhichMissSilvesterhadtakenbeforehim。He，too，attemptedtowithdrawfromthecominggame。
“Thanksverymuch，“hesaid。“Couldyouadditionallyhonormebychoosingsomebodyelse？It’snotinmyline。“
Fiftyyearsagosuchananswerasthis，addressedtoalady，wouldhavebeenconsideredinexcusablyimpertinent。Thesocialcodeofthepresenttimehaileditassomethingfranklyamusing。
Thecompanylaughed。Blanchelosthertemper。
“Can’tweinterestyouinanythingbutseveremuscularexertion，Mr。Delamayn？“sheasked，sharply。“Mustyoualwaysbepullinginaboat-race，orflyingoverahighjump？Ifyouhadamind，youwouldwanttorelaxit。Youhavegotmusclesinstead。Whynotrelax_them？“_
TheshaftsofMissLundie’sbitterwitglidedoffMr。GeoffreyDelamaynlikewateroffaduck’sback。
“Justasyouplease，“hesaid，withstolidgood-humor。“Don’tbeoffended。Icameherewithladies——andtheywouldn’tletmesmoke。Imissmysmoke。IthoughtI’dslipawayabitandhaveit。Allright!I’llplay。“
“Oh!smokebyallmeans!“retortedBlanche。“Ishallchoosesomebodyelse。Iwon’thaveyou!“
Thehonorableyounggentlemanlookedunaffectedlyrelieved。Thepetulantyoungladyturnedherbackonhim，andsurveyedtheguestsattheotherextremityofthesummer-house。
“WhoshallIchoose？“shesaidtoherself。
Adarkyoungman——withafaceburnedgipsy-brownbythesun；withsomethinginhislookandmannersuggestiveofarovinglife，andperhapsofafamiliaracquaintancewiththesea——advancedshyly，andsaid，inawhisper：
“Chooseme!“
Blanche’sfacebrokeprettilyintoacharmingsmile。Judgingfromappearances，thedarkyoungmanhadaplaceinherestimationpeculiarlyhisown。
“You!“shesaid，coquettishly。“Youaregoingtoleaveusinanhour’stime!“
Heventuredastepnearer。“Iamcomingback，“hepleaded，“thedayafterto-morrow。“
“Youplayverybadly!“
“Imightimprove——ifyouwouldteachme。“
“Mightyou？ThenIwillteachyou!“Sheturned，brightandrosy，toherstep-mother。“IchooseMr。ArnoldBrinkworth，“shesaid。