Set in Silver

								

opinion that even the most abandoned Dragon would be thankful to
sanction a marriage according to French law; so it could all be done
over again properly in France.
I suppose this appealed immensely to Ellaline's love of intrigue and
kittenish tricksiness generally. Anyway, she agreed; but young officers
propose, and their superiors dispose. Honoré was ordered off for a
month's manoeuvres before he could even ask for leave; and as he's
known to be destitute of near relatives, he couldn't rake up a perishing
grandmother as an excuse.
What he did try, I don't know; but anyhow, he failed, and the running
away had to be put off. That was blow number one, and could have been
borne, without blow number two, which fell in the shape of a letter. It
said that the wicked guardian was just about to start for home, and
intended to pick up Ellaline on his way to England, as if she were a
parcel labelled "to be kept till called for."
She's certain he won't let her marry Honoré if he has the chance to say
"no" beforehand, because he cares nothing about her happiness, or about
her, or anything else except his own selfish ambitions. Of course,
Ellaline is a girl who takes strong prejudices against people for no
particular reason, except that she has a "feeling they are horrid"; but
she does appear to be right about this man. He's English, and though
Ellaline's mother was half French, they were cousins, and I believe her
dying request was that he should take care of her daughter and her
daughter's money. You would have thought that that must have softened
even a hard heart, wouldn't you? But the Dragon's was evidently
sentiment-proof, even so many years ago, when he must have been
comparatively young--if Dragons are ever young.
He accepted the charge (Ellaline thinks her money probably influenced
him to do that; and perhaps he was paid for his trouble); but, instead
of carrying out his engagements, like a faithful guardian, he packed the
poor four-year-old baby off to some pokey, prim people in the country,
and promptly went abroad to enjoy himself. There Ellaline would no doubt
have been left to this day, dreadfully unhappy and out of her element,
for the people were an English curate and his wife; but, luckily, her
mother had stipulated that she was to be sent to the same school in
France where she herself had been educated--Madame de Maluet's.
Never once has her guardian shown the slightest sign of interest in
Ellaline: hasn't asked for her photograph or written her any letters.
They've communicated with each other only through Madame de Maluet, four
times a year or so; and Ellaline doesn't feel sure that her fortune has
been properly administered, so she says she ought to marry young and
have a husband to look after her interests.
When I ventured to hope that the Dragon wasn't quite so scaly and taily
as she painted him, she proved her point by telling me that he'd been