I prefer diamonds, but these opals are magnificent." She held out her hands, and for the first time Lord Earle saw the opal ring upon her finger.

He caught the pretty white hand in his own.
"That is a beautiful ring," he said.

"These opals are splendid.

Who gave it to you, Beatrice ?" The question came upon her suddenly like a deadly shock; she had forgotten all about the ring, and wore it only from habit.
For a moment her heart seemed to stand still and her senses to desert her.

Then with a self-possession worthy of a better cause, Beatrice looked up into her father's face with a smile.
"It was given to me at the Elms," she said, so simply that the same thought crossed the minds of her three listeners--that it had been given by Dora and her daughter did not like to say so.
Lord Earle looked on in proud delight while his beautiful daughters chose the jewels they liked best.