Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II 'about me, Mr. Cleek?" "Yes. You spoke about there being a change in your circumstances?spoke as though you thought I knew. I do not; but I should like to if I may. It will perhaps explain why you are out alone and in this neighbourhood at this time of night." "It will," she said, with just a shadow of deeper colour coming into her cheeks. "The house you saw me coming out of is the residence of a friend and former schoolmate. I went there to inquire if she could help me in any way to secure a position; and stopped later than I realised." "Procure you a position, Miss Lome? A position as what?" "Companion, amanuensis, governess?anything that," with a laugh and a blush, "'respectable young females' may do to earn a living when they come down in the world. You may possibly have heard that my uncle, Sir Horace, has married again. I think you must have done so, for the papers were full of it at the time. But I forget";?quizzically?"you don't read newspapers, do you, even when they contain accounts of your own greatness." "I wonder if I deserve that? At any rate, I got it," said Cleek with a laugh. "Yes, I heard all about Sir Horace's wedding. Some four or five monthsago, wasn't it? " "No, three?three, last Thursday, the fourteenth. A woman doesn't forget the date of her enforced abdication. The new Lady Wyvern soon let me know that I was a sup. -fluous person in the household. To-day, I came to the conclusion to leave it; and have taken the first actual step toward doing so. A lucky step, too, I fancy; or, at least, it promises to be." "As how?" "My friend knows of two people who would be likely to need me: one, a titled lady here in England, who might be 'very glad to have me'?I am quoting that, please?as governess to herlittle boy. The other, a you...