Lily Dale, her sister Bell and their widowed mother lived in the small house at Allington, almost as pensioners of old Squire Dale of the Great House. The Squire's nephew and heir Bernard had grown up with the two sisters, and Bell was the Squire's choice for the next mistress of his beloved home. Lily fell deeply in love with one of her cousin's London friends, the handsome Adolphus Crosbie and promised to marry him... What happened next? Read the story to know it!