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+Project Gutenberg's A Houseful of Girls, by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Houseful of Girls
+
+Author: Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
+
+Illustrator: Victor Prout
+
+Release Date: April 17, 2007 [EBook #21121]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HOUSEFUL OF GIRLS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+
+A Houseful of Girls
+
+By Mrs George de Horne Vaizey
+________________________________________________________________________
+Another book by Mrs de Horne Vaizey, also known as Jessie Mansergh,
+about the lives of five girls in one family, and their friends, in
+Edwardian times.  Of course every time there is a major event, such as
+an engagement, or the cancellation of one, the different girls all have
+different takes on the situation.  NH
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+A HOUSEFUL OF GIRLS
+
+BY MRS GEORGE DE HORNE VAIZEY
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+HALF A DOZEN DAUGHTERS.
+
+There were six of them altogether--six great big girls,--and they lived
+in a great big house, in the middle of a long high road, one end of
+which loses itself in London town, while the other goes stretching away
+over the county of Hertford.  Years ago, John Gilpin had ridden his
+famous race down that very road, and Christabel loved to look out of her
+bedroom window and imagine that she saw him flying along, with his poor
+bald head bared to the _breeze_, and the bottles swinging on either
+side.  She had cut a picture of him out of a book and tacked it on her
+wall, for, as she explained to Agatha, her special sister, she felt it a
+duty to support "local talent," and, so far as she could discover,
+Gilpin was the only celebrity who had ever patronised the neighbourhood.
+
+Christabel was the youngest of the family--a position which, as every
+one knows, is only second in importance to that of the eldest, and, in
+this instance, Maud was so sweet and unassuming that the haughty young
+person of fourteen ruled her with a rod of iron.
+
+Fair-haired Lilias was a full-fledged young lady, and Nan had had all
+her dresses let down, and was supposed to have her hair up; but as a
+matter of fact it was more often down than not, for it was heavy and
+plentiful, and Nan's ten thumbs could by no chance fasten it securely.
+Hair-pins littered the schoolroom floor, hair-pins stood out
+aggressively against the white paint on the stairs, hair-pins nestled in
+the little creases of velvet chairs: there were hair-pins, hair-pins
+everywhere, except just where they should have been--on Nan's dressing-
+table; and here there was such a dearth of these useful articles, that
+on one memorable occasion she had been compelled to effect a coiffure
+with the aid of a piece of string and a broken comb.  The effect was
+striking for a good ten minutes, and then came the inevitable collapse;
+but, "Dear me," as Nan observed, "accidents will happen, and what is the
+use of making a fuss about a thing like that, when the world is full of
+suffering!"
+
+Elsie thanked her stars that she was only sixteen, and need not be
+"grown-up" for two long years to come; but when her younger sisters grew
+obtrusive, she suddenly remembered that she would be seventeen in three
+months' time, and would have them know that she was to be treated with
+respect; and, in spite of daily discussions, feuds, and battles, the
+girls all loved each other dearly, and believed that such a charming and
+highly endowed family had never before existed in the annals of
+Christendom.
+
+As a matter of fact, the Rendell girls had claim to one great
+distinction--promiscuous accomplishments had been discarded in their
+case, and each had been brought up to do some one thing well.  Maud was
+musical, and practised scales two hours a day as a preliminary before
+settling down for another two or three hours of sonatas and fugues.
+Elsie locked herself in her bedroom for a like period, and the wails of
+her violin came floating downstairs like the lament of a lost soul.  Nan
+appropriated a chilly attic, carved wood and her fingers at the same
+time, and clanged away at copper work, knocking her nails black and blue
+with ill-directed strokes of the hammer, as she manufactured the panels
+which were fitted into her oak carving with such artistic effect.
+Lilias declared sweetly that she was too stupid to do anything, but
+privately reflected that at least she had mastered the art of looking
+charming; and what did it matter if she _were_ useless, since with her
+beauty she would certainly marry a duke on the first opportunity, and be
+spirited away to a life of luxury!  As for Agatha and Christabel, they
+were supposed to devote themselves to the study of languages and the
+domestic arts, but in private conclave they had already decided on their
+future career.  They were to keep a select academy for young ladies, in
+which they would correct all those glaring errors of governess and
+mother under which they themselves had groaned.
+
+"I can bear it better when I feel it is for a good end.  Our girls shall
+never suffer as I am suffering!" said Chrissie, with an air of
+martyrdom, when she was ordered to bed at nine o'clock, and
+remorselessly roused from slumber at seven a.m.  "If grown-ups were
+sensible, they would allow a child to follow its own instinct.  Nature
+must surely know better than mothers; and my nature tells me to sit up
+at nights and have breakfast in bed.  To be sent off as if one were a
+child in arms is really too horribly trying!"
+
+"And when Mr Barr was there too!  So degrading!  Last night he was
+talking to me about books, and I'm sure he thought I was quite grown up.
+The table was between us, you know, so he couldn't see my legs.  I was
+enjoying myself so much, and saying that I thought Thackeray much over-
+rated, when mother came up and said, `Time for bed, Chickie!  Run away!'
+I assure you, I _blushed_ with mortification."
+
+"Piteous!" said Christabel, bringing out her pet word with emphasis.
+"They never think of our feelings.  I shall make it a rule to study the
+characters of our young ladies, and avoid wounding their
+susceptibilities.  I know how it feels!"
+
+In spite of their many sufferings, however, the Rendells would one and
+all have been ready to declare that there never had been, might, could,
+would, or should be, such another father and mother as they possessed.
+To have a son at college, and yourself carry off a prize at a tennis
+tournament, was surely a feat to be proud of on the part of a father;
+and what joy to have a tiny little scrap of a mother, who could be
+petted like a child and lifted up in the arms of the youngest daughter--
+a mother who had solved the problem of eternal youth, and looked so
+pretty and so meek, that it was a constant marvel where on earth she
+managed to stow that colossal will-power before which every member of
+the household bowed and trembled.
+
+The Rendells' house was at once the brightest, the airiest, and the
+noisiest in the neighbourhood.  As there were only six daughters, it can
+truthfully be asserted that there were never more than half a dozen
+girls talking at the same moment.  Strangers passing beneath the
+schoolroom window at a moment when the sisters were assembled together,
+had indeed been known to estimate the numbers present as from a dozen to
+twenty; but such a statement was obviously false, and tended to that
+painful habit of exaggeration which it is the duty of all good folk to
+deplore.  They were girls of strong individuality, and each felt it a
+duty to state her own views on any given subject, which she proceeded to
+do, undaunted by the fact that her companions were too much engrossed in
+talking themselves to be able to listen to a word she said.  Maud
+talked, pouring out tea and dropping sugar into the cups with tragic
+emphasis; Lilias prattled sweetly, waving her white hands to enforce a
+point which no one heard; Nan banged the table and upset her cup in
+violence of denunciation; Elsie squeaked away in melancholy treble; and
+Agatha's "Too bad!" and Christabel's "Horrid shame!" were heard
+uninterruptedly in every pause.
+
+When the door of the Grange opened to admit a stranger, the wail of a
+violin, the jingle of the piano, and the clang of Nan's hammer greeted
+him on the threshold, and from morn till night the echo of laughter and
+of happy voices never died away.  There was only one occasion when the
+Rendell girls subsided into silence, and that was when Jim--the brother,
+the typical man of the race--came home on a visit and shed the lustre of
+his presence on his native village.  Then the Miss Rendells sat in rows
+at his feet, paying obeisance, and, meekly opening their mouths,
+swallowed all he said, not even Nan herself daring to raise a question.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+A HAPPY THOUGHT.
+
+Thurston House, the abode of the Rendell family, was one of those
+curiously-constructed houses which are only to be met with in old-
+fashioned neighbourhoods.  It stood directly on the high road, a big
+grey building which could boast of no architectural beauty, and which
+indeed presented a somewhat cheerless aspect, with its wire blinds and
+tall, straight windows.  A gaunt, town-like house--such was the
+impression made upon the casual passer--by; but appearances are apt to
+be deceptive, and that same stranger would have speedily altered his
+impression, if he had been taken round the garden to view the other side
+of the house.  It was almost impossible to believe in such a different
+aspect!  From one side a busy high road, strings of cyclists, _char a
+bancs_ driving past, bearing parties of brawling trippers, clouds of
+dust, the echo of the drivers' horns, and the continued whirl of wheels;
+and on the other--deep bay windows looking on to a lawn of softest
+green, winding paths shaded with grand old trees, and, beyond all, a
+meadow stretching down to the riverside, where punt and canoe stood
+waiting in happy proximity, and clumps of bamboos flourished in eastern
+luxuriance.
+
+"Our country house," the girls called the rooms facing south, "Our town
+house," those at the front; but though they adored the garden, and spent
+every available moment out of doors, the busy high road still held an
+attraction of its own.  Mrs Rendell had her own entertaining rooms at
+the back of the house, but the girls were faithful to the little porch
+chamber which had been their property since childhood--a quaint little
+den built over the doorway, with a window at each of the three sides,
+through which an extended view was afforded of the comings and goings of
+the neighbourhood.
+
+"I love this dear little bower," sighed Lilias sentimentally.  "There's
+something so quaint and old-world about it.  I feel like Elaine in her
+turret-chamber, looking out upon the great wide world."
+
+"And it's such sport watching the people pass, especially on rainy days
+when the wind is high, and they are trying to hold up their dresses, and
+carry an umbrella and half a dozen parcels at the same time!" cried Nan
+with a relish.  "Last Saturday was the very worst day of the year, and
+all the good housewives went past to shop.  Chrissie and Agatha and I
+offered a prize to go to the one who guessed rightly who would have the
+muddiest boots.  It was lovely watching them!  Old Mrs Rowe, clutching
+her dress in front, and showing all her ankles, while at the back it was
+trailing on the ground; Mrs Smith, stalking like a grenadier, with a
+skimpy skirt and snow-shoes a yard long; dear, sweet little Mrs Bruce,
+as neat as ever, with not a single splash; and Mrs Booth, splattered
+right up to her waist, with boots as white as that rag.  I had her name
+on my paper, so I got the prize, and spent it in caramels.  I'm getting
+rather tired of caramels--I've had such a run on them lately.  I must
+turn to something else for a change."
+
+"You are getting too old to eat sweets, Nan," said Lilias severely.
+"You ought to set the children a better example.  If all the money you
+spend at the confectioner's was put together, you would be surprised to
+find how much it was.  And it's bad for your teeth to eat so much sugar.
+Why don't you save up, and put it to some really good use?"
+
+"Such as frilling, and ribbons, and combs for the hair!" suggested Nan
+slily, rolling her eyes at the younger girls, who chuckled in the
+consciousness that Lilias had got her answer this time at least, since
+every one knew well how her pocket-money went!  "What is your idea of
+something useful, my dear?  We'd be pleased to take into consideration
+any scheme which you may have to propose, but in its present form the
+suggestion is somewhat vague."
+
+"My dear child, you know as well as I do that there are a hundred
+different ways.  The only difficulty is to choose."  Lilias stared out
+of the window, trying hard to cudgel up one idea out of the specified
+hundred, in case she should be pressed still further.  That was the
+worst of Nan, she always persisted on pushing a subject to the end.
+"You--er--you might help the poor of the parish!"
+
+"Just what we do!  I heard the vicar say myself that Mrs Evans was a
+striving little woman who ought to be supported.  If we took away our
+custom--"
+
+"I mean the really poor.  Mrs Evans would not shut up shop for the want
+of your threepenny-pieces, but the Mission at Sale is always short of
+funds.  If you had a collecting-box, you could send in a subscription at
+Christmas."
+
+"`The Misses Margaret, Elsa, Agatha, and Christabel Rendell--four and
+sixpence halfpenny,'" quoted Chrissie derisively.  She marched across
+the room and stationed herself with her back to the fire, her thin face
+looking forth from a cloud of hair, an expression of dignified disdain
+curling her lips.  "How important it sounds, to be sure!  It's all very
+well talking about saving up, Lilias, but it's not so easy to do with
+sixpence a week, and birthdays every month, and Christmas presents, and
+pencils and indiarubbers, and always seeing fresh things in the shop-
+windows that you want to buy.  It's not that I wouldn't like to help: if
+I had a sovereign, I'd give it at once, but I won't be put down in the
+list for eighteenpence, and that's all I could save, if I tried, from
+now to Christmas.  I gave a threepenny-bit to old `Chairs to mend' only
+last Saturday, and one the week before to a woman who was begging.  I am
+most charitably disposed!"
+
+"So am I," agreed Agatha--"especially when it's cold.  Rags wouldn't be
+so bad in summer, but they must be awfully draughty in winter.  And I
+spend less in sweets than any of the others, because my teeth ache.
+I've often wished we could do something for the Mission; but I'm so
+poor, and I sha'n't get any goose-money till autumn.  I wish we could
+think of some plan by which we could make some more.  Chrissie and I are
+always talking about it.  There seems so few ways in which girls of
+fourteen can make money.  We thought of writing and asking the editor of
+the employment column; but mother laughed at us, and said it was
+nonsense.  It's not nonsense to us!"
+
+"If we could only have a sale of work," said Lilias slowly.  She was
+still staring dreamily out of the window, and hardly realised what she
+was saying, but the other four girls turned sharply towards each other,
+and a flash of delight passed from one pair of eyes to the other.
+
+"Ah-ah!" sighed Elsie.
+
+"Splendiferous!" cried Nan.
+
+"How simp-lay love-lay!" drawled Christabel, with the languid elegance
+of manner for which she was distinguished; and Agatha beamed broadly all
+over her good-humoured face, oblivious of the sufferings of the poor in
+the prospect of her own amusement.
+
+"What fun we should have!  I'd bake the cakes and manage the refreshment
+stall!  Tea and coffee, threepence a cup; lemonade, fourpence; fruit
+salad, sixpence a plate!"
+
+"I'd sell toffee in tins, and have a pin-cushion table, and make every
+single soul I know give me a contribution."
+
+"I'd give my new oak bracket.  No, it's too big.  I couldn't spare that;
+but I'd carve something else; and make little brass trays and panels.
+`High art stall: Miss Margaret Rendell.  Objects of bigotry and virtue
+to be handed over to her,' and don't you forget it!"
+
+"I'll take visitors out in the punt at threepence a head.  I'm so stupid
+that I can't do any work, but the idea is mine, and that ought to count
+for something," said Lilias; and a vision rose before her eyes of a slim
+white figure gracefully handling the pole as the punt glided down the
+stream.  Punting was a most becoming occupation; on the whole she could
+not have hit on a pleasanter manner of helping the cause.  "I daresay I
+shall make quite a lot of money!" she added cheerfully; and her sisters
+laughed with the half-indulgent, half-derisive laughter with which they
+were accustomed to greet Lilias's sayings.  She was so sweetly
+unconscious of her own selfishness, and looked so pretty as she turned
+her big bewildered eyes from one to the other, that they had not the
+heart to disturb her equanimity.
+
+"The punt is a good idea," admitted Nan, "for people are always pleased
+to go on the river, and we must turn our advantages to account.  A
+garden sale, that's what we must have!  Little tables dotted about the
+lawn beneath Japanese umbrellas; tea in a tent, and seats under the
+trees.  We can use all the properties that mother keeps for her garden
+parties, and make it just as pretty and attractive as can be.  I
+shouldn't wonder if we made a lot of money, for we shall be so original
+and ingenious.  People are so stupid in this world.  I always feel I
+could do things so much better myself.  Who wants to go to a stuffy old
+bazaar in the Mission Room?  No one does!  They go from a sense of duty.
+Mother groans and says, `Oh dear, if I could only give a subscription
+and be done with it!  More cosies and chairbacks!  I've a drawerful
+already!'  And bazaar things are hideous!  Father gave me ten shillings
+to spend at the Christmas sale, and I wandered round and round like a
+lost sheep, and couldn't see a single thing that I wanted.  In the end I
+bought a cover for _Bradshaw_.  It wasn't a bit useful, for I never have
+a _Bradshaw_; but it was the nicest thing I saw.  Now, let us solemnly
+resolve not to have anything on our stalls that will not reflect credit
+on our judgment.  Nothing ugly, nothing useless, nothing vulgar--"
+
+"Impossible, my dear!  Can't be managed.  It's the law of Nature that
+the kindest-hearted people have the least taste.  I don't know why it
+should be so, but it is, and I'll prove it to you.  If we announced that
+we were going to have a sale of work and asked for contributions, who
+would be the first people to respond?"  Christabel thrust out her left
+hand and began checking off the fingers with dramatic emphasis.  "Miss
+Ross,--Mrs Hudson,--Mary Field,--old Jane Evans.  `So pleased to hear
+that the dear children are interesting themselves in the welfare of
+their poor brothers and sisters, and I've brought round a few wool mats
+as a little expression of sympathy!'--that's Mrs Ross!  Then Mary Ann
+would hobble up with a parcel wrapped up in a handkerchief, and kiss us
+all twice over, and say, `I've brought round a piece of my own fancy
+work, lovies, as a contribution for your sale.  My sight is not what it
+used to be, and it's difficult to get the material one would like in
+this little place; but shaded silks always look well, and I made the
+fringe myself out of odd pieces of wool.'  And _that's_ not the worst!
+Mrs Hudson would paint bulrushes on cream-pots, and forget-me-nots on
+tambourines, and come round bristling with importance.  `I always find
+fancy work is overdone at sales, so I thought a little of my hand-
+painting would be acceptable!  No one needs more than a dozen cosies,
+but every one is glad of an extra tambourine!' ...  It's easy to talk,
+my dear, but what could you do when it came to the point?  There's
+nothing for it but to smile, and look pleased."
+
+"I should say politely, but firmly, that I could not find it in my heart
+to deprive them of such treasures--that with so many deserving objects
+craving support, it would be pure selfishness on our part to monopolise
+all the good things!  Such munificence was far, far more than we
+deserved, and would they kindly send a little cake instead?  They would
+be delighted, for they are everlastingly giving to some mission or
+other, and are always in a rush to get work finished.  But I don't
+propose to let things reach such a climax.  I wouldn't hurt their dear
+old feelings for the world.  So we will say at once that we want cake
+and fruit, and we shall get the very best of its kind.  We must fix our
+date for the strawberry season; for the human heart is desperately
+wicked, and people will gladly pay sixpence to sit under trees and eat
+strawberries and cream, when wild horses wouldn't drag twopence out of
+them for a pen-wiper.  I expect we shall succeed best with punting and
+refreshments."
+
+"If it's fine!  But it won't be fine--it will pour!" said Elsie
+gloomily, and wagged her head in the hopeless manner of one who has
+tasted deeply of the world, and knew its hollowness by heart.  If there
+was by chance a cheerful _and_ a melancholy view to be taken on any
+subject, Elsie invariably chose the melancholy one, and gloated over it
+with ghoulish enjoyment.  She was never so happy as when she was
+miserable,--as an Irishman would have had it,--and hugged the conviction
+that she was "unappreciated" by her family, and a victim of fate.  She
+shed tears over _Misunderstood_ in the solitude of her chamber, and
+cultivated an expression of patient martyrdom, as most fitted for her
+condition.  Occasionally she forgot herself so far as to be cheery and
+playful; but her feelings were so ultrasensitive that they were bound to
+be wounded by some thoughtlessness on the part of her sisters before
+many hours were over, when she would remember her own unhappiness, and
+roam away by herself to the other end of the garden to apostrophise the
+heavens and pity her hard lot.  "It will be sure to pour!  It always
+does pour when we want to do anything!" she declared; upon which Nan
+threw her book into the air and caught it again with a dexterous
+movement.
+
+"Fiddle-de-dee!  It's going to be a bright, glorious summer day, with
+just enough sun to be warm and not enough to be hot, and just enough
+wind to be cool and not enough to be cold.  And the grass is going to be
+dry and the strawberries ripe; and all the pretty ladies and gentlemen
+are going to drive over from miles and miles around, and spend so much
+money that they will have none left to take them home.  What is the use
+of croaking?  If things go wrong, it's bad enough to have to bear them
+at the time; but until then imagination is our own, and we will make the
+most of it.  It will not pour, my dear Raven; so don't let me hear you
+say so again!  Make up your mind that this sale is going to be a
+success, and try to bear it as well as you can."
+
+Elsie looked up at the corner of the ceiling, and arched her eyebrows in
+resigned and submissive fashion.  When the rain did come,--as of course
+it would,--when all the fancy work was drenched and the pretty dresses
+spoiled, the girls would remember her prophecy, and be compelled to
+acknowledge its correctness; but till then she would suffer in silence,
+and refuse to be drawn into vulgar argument.  So she determined, at
+least; but a fiery temptation assailed her in the form of another
+objection, so unanswerable that it was not in human nature to resist
+hurling it at the heads of her companions.
+
+"I hope you are right, I am sure; but, all the same, it is rather early
+in the day to make arrangements.  You are counting without your host.
+How can you tell that mother will consent to let you have the sale at
+all?"
+
+And at that the listeners hung their heads and were silent, for it was
+indeed useless to build castles unless they were first assured of this
+foundation.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+A NEW NEIGHBOUR.
+
+After dinner that evening the six girls assembled in the drawing-room,
+and little Mrs Rendell sat in their midst on a low chair drawn up in
+the centre of the fireplace.  A grey silk dress fitted closely to the
+lines of her tiny figure, two minute little slippers were placed upon
+the fender, and the diamonds flashed on her fingers as she held up a fan
+to protect her face from the blaze.  She looked ridiculously young and
+pretty, to be the mother of those six big girls; and a stranger looking
+in at the scene would have put her down as a helpless little creature,
+too meek and gentle to cope with such heavy responsibilities.  But the
+stranger would have been mistaken.
+
+"Mother darling," said Christabel insinuatingly, "granting always that
+you are the kindest and most amiable of mothers, do you happen to feel
+in an extra specially angelic temper this evening?"
+
+"An `oh-certainly-my-darlings-do-whatever-you-please' temper!" chimed in
+Nan sweetly; "because if you do--"
+
+"I hope I shall never be so forgetful of my duties as to say anything so
+indiscreet," replied Mrs Rendell firmly.  "Margaret, your hair is
+tumbling down again!  Kneel down, and let me fasten it for you at once!"
+
+Nan knelt down meekly, her roguish face on a level with her mother's,
+and the brown coils were twisted and hair-pinned together with swift,
+decided fingers.
+
+"You must do it like this--do you see!--tighter, closer, more firmly!"
+
+"Yes, mother."
+
+"It's disgraceful that a big girl like you--a girl nearly eighteen--
+should not be able to do her own hair!"
+
+"Yes, mother."
+
+"You wouldn't like to be known as the girl with the untidy hair, I
+suppose, or to have a collapse of this sort in church or in the street?"
+
+"No, mother."
+
+"Then pray, my dear, be more careful.  Don't let me have to speak
+again."
+
+"I'll try, mother.  A rough head, but a loving heart!  You might kiss me
+now and say you're sorry, for you stuck two hair-pins right into my
+scalp, and I never winced!"
+
+Mrs Rendell smiled, and laid a gentle hand on the girl's cheek.  For
+one moment her dignified airs seemed to vanish, and nothing but motherly
+tenderness shone in her eyes, but the next she drew herself up again,
+stiff as a little poker, and said lightly--
+
+"Nonsense, nonsense!  Get up, child, and don't be ridiculous!  Sit on
+that high chair, and don't stoop!  I can't endure to see a young girl
+lounging on a couch.  What is this new scheme that you wish to ask me
+about to-night?"
+
+"Mother dear, you know you like us to be charitable!  You are always
+preaching--er, I mean impressing upon us--that we ought to remember the
+poah," said Christabel, standing up as stiff as a grenadier, and smiling
+at her mother in her most ingratiating manner.  Mrs Rendell would have
+died rather than acknowledge a special weakness towards any member of
+her flock; but as a matter of fact her youngest-born possessed a power
+of wheedling favours which none of her sisters could boast, and was
+herself agreeably conscious of the fact, and fond of putting it to the
+test.  "I am sure you will approve of our scheme, and feel pleased with
+us for thinking of it.  It's for the Mission.  We thought of getting up
+a little sale among ourselves, and giving the proceeds towards the
+funds."
+
+"It is so little that we can give; but if we devote our time and
+strength"--murmured Lilias prettily.
+
+"It all adds up when you put it together," said practical Agatha; "and
+you can stick on such awful prices.  Chrissie and I thought we might
+have the refreshments and a pin-cushion stall, and set out little tables
+on the lawn."
+
+"Such jolly fun!" gushed Nan.  "Every one would come; and we would have
+games, and sports, and sails in the boats, and something to pay wherever
+they went.  The young ones would stay, after the others had gone, to eat
+up the strawberries, and we would have pounds and pounds to give to the
+secretary."
+
+"Of strawberries?" queried Mrs Rendell coldly.  "Your English, Nan, is
+painful to hear.  I think I shall write down some of your sentences and
+give them to you to parse.  Then perhaps you may realise how they sound!
+A sale for the Mission!  That is an ambitious idea.  How do you propose
+to get together enough work to fill a single stall, much less three or
+four?"
+
+"There are five months before July, and we would work like niggers all
+the time.  Nan would carve, we would sew, all our friends would help,
+and we would make money by tea and refreshments.  Really and truly, we
+could do very well, if you would only say `Yes'."
+
+"And we should so enjoy it!  It's horrid having nothing to look forward
+to; and if there was this in prospect, we should be busy and occupied,
+and the wet days wouldn't seem half so long!"
+
+"Now, let us understand each other," said Mrs Rendell briskly.  "Is
+this scheme proposed for your own amusement, or for the good of the
+Mission?  One says one thing, one another, and I can't make up my mind
+whether I am asked to consent to a charity or to a novel form of garden-
+party.  I should like to have that point settled before we go any
+further.  Are you thinking of yourselves or your neighbours?"
+
+Silence.  The sisters looked at one another askance.  Elsie sighed and
+shook her head, Agatha flushed to the roots of her hair, only Nan
+retained her composure, and said daringly--
+
+"Both, mother.  We began by saying that we should like to give a
+contribution, but we had so little money that it seemed hardly worth
+while sending it; and then the sale was suggested.  The first idea was
+to help the Mission, but we did think that it would be good fun for
+ourselves as well!  There is no harm in that, is there?  You have said
+lots of times that you love cheerful givers, and it must be better to do
+a thing willingly than grumbling all the time.  Do people who get up
+bazaars never think of the fun, and the dresses, and the meeting with
+their friends, but only just of the charity for which they are working?
+Oh, mother, I don't believe they do!  I've heard you say yourself--"
+
+"Nan, Nan, Nan!  I object to be quoted!  It is dreadful to have an
+audience of six girls swallowing every word, and bringing them up in
+judgment on the first convenient opportunity!"  Mrs Rendell showed her
+pretty teeth in a smile of amusement, and returned to the subject in
+hand with suspicious haste.  "Well, you are honest, at any rate, and so
+long as you keep the idea of helping others to the fore, and don't allow
+it to be crowded out by the thought of your own enjoyment, I don't see
+anything to object to in your scheme.  No; I don't give my consent yet!
+You must think it over quietly for a week, and be quite sure of your own
+minds.  A sale would involve more work than you think; for you will have
+to give up time and money and do the thing thoroughly, if you once take
+it in hand.  I will promise nothing to-night; for I wonder how many
+times you have come to me brimming over with enthusiasm about some new
+plan, and how often it has collapsed like a bubble in a couple of days!
+You are such changeable children!"
+
+"Oh, Mummy, come!  Call things by their nice names," pleaded Nan.  "It's
+not fickleness--it's fertility of imagination; it's not a collapse--it's
+only a fresh beginning!  But we really mean it this time, and you mean
+to say `Yes,' too.  I know you do; so nothing now remains but to talk it
+over with Kitty in the morning."
+
+"Ah, yes!  Until Kitty has been consulted nothing can be called
+certain," said Mrs Rendell, smiling again; and as she spoke she lifted
+her head in a listening gesture, and pushed her stool from the fire.
+She had heard the opening of a door, and knew that her husband had
+finished his after-dinner cigar and was on his way to the drawing-room;
+and the next moment he appeared on the threshold, looked round the group
+by the fire, and threw himself in a chair by Nan's side.
+
+"Well, Mops!"  The big hand descended on the girl's head, and ruffled
+the locks which had been so carefully put in order, while she turned up
+her face with a beaming smile, for there was a special bond of union
+between herself and her father, and they aided and abetted each other in
+mischief like a couple of merry children.  "Well, Mops, how goes it?
+What pranks have you been up to to-day?"
+
+"Oh, father, none at all.  I've behaved beautifully--just like a real,
+grown-up lady!  In the morning I pursued my avocations, and in the
+afternoon I went out calling, with light kid gloves and a card-case.
+Every one was out but old Mrs Reed, and you would have loved it if you
+could have heard us talk!  We discussed the weather in all its branches.
+Cold--dampy-cold--dry cold; warm--close-warm--breezy warm; hot,
+thundery hot, scorching.  She told me which of each she liked best, and
+which her poor dear mother had liked best; and I lingered on and on,
+hoping they would bring in tea, until at last I yawned so much that I
+was obliged to come away unfed.  Then I had cold tea and scraps in the
+schoolroom, and we discussed charitable agencies."
+
+"Oh, Nan, Nan, this will never do!  You are getting altogether too
+civilised.  I shall have no playmate left at this rate," cried her
+father, laughing.  "Can't you be satisfied with two grown-up daughters,
+mother, and leave Mops to me for a few years longer?"
+
+Mrs Rendell tried to look shocked, a task which she found somewhat
+difficult when her husband was the offender; but if her eyes betrayed
+her, the elevated brows and pursed-up lips made a valiant show of
+disapproval.
+
+"At eighteen?  She is past eighteen, remember.  You don't expect a girl
+of eighteen to run about in short skirts, with her hair down her back?"
+
+"She would look much nicer!" sighed Mr Rendell, looking regretfully
+first at the long white skirt, and then at the coiled-up tresses.  "They
+grow up so quickly, Edith; I live in terror of having no children left--
+nothing but fashionable young ladies.  One must give in to custom to a
+certain extent, I suppose, but I warn you frankly that Chrissie shall be
+the exception.  It would break my heart to see Chrissie properly grown
+up.  Chrissie shall always wear her hair down her back!"
+
+Christabel screwed up her eyes at him across the fireplace with a smile
+of indulgent affection.  He was so young, this dear old father! so
+ridiculously young, that his vagaries could not be treated with the
+severity they deserved.  It was truest wisdom to take no notice, and
+lead the conversation to wiser topics.
+
+"Any news in the great world to-day, father?" she inquired airily.  "Any
+nice little bits of gossip to tell us?  We look forward to hearing your
+news, you know, as part of the day's excitement."
+
+"My news, indeed!  Gossip, she calls it.  If you had to provide for half
+a dozen daughters, Miss Christabel, you wouldn't find much time to spend
+in `gossip.'  I go to town to work, and leave it to you at home to run
+round collecting the news of the neighbourhood.  I know nothing.  I hear
+nothing.  Men don't trouble themselves with gossip."
+
+Seven long-drawn gasps of incredulity greeted this utterance; seven
+pairs of eyes rolled involuntarily to the ceiling; seven heads wagged in
+accusation.
+
+"Oh, oh, oh!  Who goes on 'Change and is told the latest jokes?  Who
+goes to a _cafe_ after lunch and smokes with his cronies?  Who has
+afternoon tea, and talks again?  Who travels every day with the same men
+in the train, and hears everything, every--single--tiny--weeny snap of
+news that has happened within ten miles around?"
+
+"Don't know, I'm sure.  I don't!"
+
+"Oh, oh!  Who told us about Evan Bruce, and about Mabel's engagement,
+and the robbery at the Priory, and--and--"
+
+"For pity's sake, stop talking all at once!  Take it in turns.  Speak in
+pairs if you must, but not in a perfect orchestra.  I didn't know I had
+been the first to hear any of those thrilling incidents, but it was
+quite an exception if I did.  We generally read reviews, or talk
+business.  I've no news for you to-night, at any rate."
+
+"You always say so at first, dear.  You're so forgetful.  Think again.
+Frank Brightwen, now--he told you something?"
+
+"Gold Reef shares gone up two per cent.  Market closed firm, with a
+tendency to rise."
+
+"I shall buy some at once.  I like things that are going to rise.  Be
+sensible now, for I shall have to go to bed in ten minutes, and I do so
+want to be amused.  Had Mr Keeling nothing interesting to relate?"
+
+"Bad cold, and feared influenza.  Details of his last attack.
+Prescriptions from all the other fellows, with accounts of their own
+experiences."
+
+"Deah me, how appalling!  Worse than a tea-party!  I had no ideah men
+could be so dull.  Nobody engaged?  Nobody married?  Nobody going to
+give a dance?  No new people coming to live in the neighbourhood?"
+
+"Ha!"  Mr Rendell struck an attitude of remembrance, at which the
+watching faces brightened with smiles.  "Yes, now I come to think of it,
+there was one little item of news.  I forgot all about it; but you will
+be interested, no doubt.  The Grange is sold!"
+
+The expression of curiosity on his daughters' faces was exchanged for
+one of blank amazement.  Even his wife gave a start of surprise, and
+turned towards him with eager inquiry.
+
+"Let!  Really let, Alfred?  You don't mean it?"
+
+"So I am told."
+
+"We've been told so so often that one grows sceptical.  Is it really and
+truly sold, and the deeds signed?  I sha'n't believe it unless they are,
+for difficulties have cropped up so often at the last moment.  Are you
+quite sure this time?"
+
+"As sure as it is possible to be about anything in this wicked world.
+Braithwaite tells me it's an accomplished fact.  The deeds are signed,
+and the workmen are to begin putting the house in order next week.  You
+may take it as settled this time, for the man really means to come.  He
+is a certain Ernest Vanburgh by name, and has been living abroad for
+some years."
+
+"And is there a Mrs Vanburgh, and has he any children, and are they
+young or grown up?"
+
+"Is he a dull sort of man, or will he be hospitable, and give dinners
+and parties and help to make the place lively?"
+
+"Is he musical, father, because there's that lovely big room where we
+could have such charming musical evenings?"
+
+Mr Rendell shrugged his shoulders with an air of resignation.
+
+"How like a woman, or rather, I should say, how like half a dozen women
+put together!  My dears, I know absolutely nothing about the man, except
+that he has bought the place.  He is in a hurry to get settled, so you
+will probably find out all about him for yourselves before many weeks
+are over.  It's no use asking questions.  He was willing to pay down the
+money, and that was all that Braithwaite cared about.  He may be a
+bachelor or a second Bluebeard, for all I know; but I suppose in either
+case he will still be better than nobody."
+
+"Of course he will.  Blank windows are so dull.  Curtains are much more
+interesting.  There's so much character in curtains.  I can tell the
+sort of woman who lives in a house merely by looking at her curtains.
+It will be a new interest in life to have the Grange let again."
+
+"And I have a Feeling that it will be an Epoch in our lives.  I have a
+Feeling that our Fate and that of the new tenants will be inextricably
+woven together.  It may be foolish, but these convictions are borne in
+upon me; I cannot help them!" cried Elsie, clasping her hands and
+opening her blue eyes to the fullest capacity, as she turned a gaze of
+mysterious raptness upon the group by the fireplace.  "Perhaps in years
+to come we may look back upon this evening as a milestone marking out
+the past from the future, and realise--"
+
+A burst of laughter put a stop to further sentimentalising, and Elsie
+retired within her shell, aggrieved and dignified; but for once she was
+right in her surmises, for her own fate and that of her sisters was
+indeed destined to be permanently affected by the coming of the new
+tenant of the Grange.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+CASTLES IN THE AIR.
+
+The news that the Grange was sold was truly of great interest to the
+Rendell family, for the house faced their own on the opposite side of
+the road, and its uninhabited condition had been a standing grievance.
+That one of the handsomest houses of the neighbourhood should remain
+empty was a serious matter in a small community, and the younger girls
+listened with bated breath to the accounts of the gorgeous
+entertainments which had been given by the last tenant, hoping against
+hope that the time would soon come when the house would once more be
+thrown open, and the great oak-panelled rooms re-echo to the sound of
+music and laughter.  Like their own house, a portion of the Grange
+abutted on to the high road, so that a row of windows lay immediately
+open to inspection; but two great wings stretched back to right and
+left, and the house was surrounded on three sides by beautiful and
+extensive grounds.  The late owner had spent lavishly in beautifying the
+place, and had asked in return a sum so exorbitant, that though many
+would-be tenants had arrived to look over the house, one and all drew
+back when the nature of his demands was made known, and the Rendell
+girls were not the only people who had despaired of a settlement.  But
+now at last a delightful certainty had been gained, the deeds were
+signed, and the long waiting was at an end!
+
+The morning after the news had been received, Agatha and Christabel
+rushed to the porch-room directly after breakfast, and flattened their
+noses against the pane to watch for the first sign of their chosen
+companion, that same Kitty of whom mention has already been made, and
+who came daily to join the schoolroom party, instead of indulging in the
+luxury of a governess of her own.  She came at last, a tall lamp-post of
+a girl, with blue serge skirt blowing back from long brown legs, a plaid
+Tam O'Shanter perched on the top of chestnut locks, and a bundle of
+books tucked beneath the arm of a corduroy jacket.  Christabel banged an
+eager fist upon the window, and rushed downstairs in a whirl of
+excitement to meet her friend, and carry her off to the schoolroom.
+
+"My deah, such news!  You'll never guess!  It's perfectly charming!
+You'll go wild when you hear it!"
+
+Kitty sat down in a chair and gazed calmly around.  Whether she would
+"go wild" or not when the news was unfolded remained to be seen; but in
+the meantime her composure showed not the slightest sign of being
+disturbed.
+
+"Um!" she ejaculated, and began to divest herself of her outdoor
+garments, as if nothing more important engrossed her attention.  She
+tugged at the fingers of her deerskin gloves, and let them fall
+indiscriminately at either side of her chair; she sent her cap flying
+across the room, wriggled out of her jacket, kicked her overshoes
+beneath the table, then folded her arms and seemed to feel that she had
+no further responsibility in the matter.  The art of putting away
+outdoor clothes was one, indeed, which Miss Kitty seemed powerless to
+master.  In vain her mother exhausted herself in objurgation, and grew
+alternately pitiful and angry; Kitty kissed her fervently and vowed
+amendment, but the next day there was the jacket as usual, hanging over
+a dining-room chair, and the other garments dropped in as many odd
+places about the house.  This method of procedure was, no doubt, a
+saving of trouble in the first instance, but retribution followed when
+it came to starting out again after lunch, when Miss Kitty might have
+been seen plunging wildly about the room in search of a missing glove or
+tie, while groans of despair attended every movement.
+
+"Where _can_ it be?  Wish my things could be left alone!  Always stuck
+out of the way!  Shall be late again now, and get bad marks.  Not my
+fault.  Horrid old servants!  Wish they'd do their own work, and leave
+my things alone."  So on, and so on, until at last the missing article
+was found, folded up in a magazine, or thrust beneath a fern-pot, when
+Kitty would seize it resentfully, and stalk down the garden-path on her
+long brown legs, puffing and fuming, and feeling herself the most ill-
+used of mortals.  On the present occasion Elsie and Agatha entered the
+room as she finished undressing, and the former immediately set to work
+to gather together the scattered possessions and put them away, for she
+was tidier-in-general to the household, and could never by any
+possibility bring herself to sit down comfortably in a room where a
+picture hung awry, or a tablecloth dipped unevenly at the corner.  The
+while she moved about she cast a pensive glance at the newcomer, and
+exclaimed regretfully--
+
+"Kitty doesn't approve.  I saw it in her face the moment I came into the
+room.  I knew she wouldn't, and I don't know that I do, either.  It's a
+great risk!"
+
+"I haven't heard anything to approve of yet.  Chrissie has been too
+excited to descend to details.  You seem to have been very busy!  I
+never heard of any news when I was here yesterday."
+
+There was a tinge of displeasure in the voice in which the last sentence
+was spoken, and Agatha, the tenderhearted, was quick to note it, and to
+explain away the misconception.
+
+"There was nothing to hear.  It happened later.  There are two things we
+want to tell you about.  One is a piece of news from the outside, and
+the other is our own special affair; but of course it's not really
+settled, for, as mother said, until you had been consulted, nothing
+definite could be decided."
+
+"Think not, indeed!" said Kitty shortly.  She put her hand in her pocket
+and drew forth a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles, which she placed, not
+on the bridge, but on the extreme tip of her nose.  Her curly hair was
+roughened over her shoulders, the brown ribbon bow stood up erect at the
+top of her head; her arms were folded in deliberate inelegance, and she
+gazed over the spectacles with an air of grandmotherly condescension,
+comically at variance with her appearance.
+
+"Let me hear about it at once, or Miss Phelps will arrive, and I shall
+burst with curiosity in the middle of lessons.  What is it that you want
+to do?"
+
+Elsie, Agatha, and Christabel immediately proceeded to explain the
+situation in characteristic Rendell fashion, all speaking together, and
+continuing to speak, without being in the least disconcerted by the
+babble evoked.  Elsie whined, Agatha gurgled, and Chrissie drawled,
+while the listener rolled her eyes from one to another, catching a
+phrase here, a phrase there, until at length some dawning of the
+situation began to make itself known.
+
+"A sale of work!  We are to slave away making pin-cushions from now
+until July, and then sell them to some one else!  I understand that; but
+what is the idea of doing it?  Who is going to get the money when it is
+made?"
+
+"The poor and needy!"
+
+"Thank you so much!  Most considerate, I'm sure!"
+
+"Kittay, be quiet!  The Mission, of course; the Mission at Sale.  We
+thought we ought to help, as it is in debt, and we do no good with our
+money as it is.  We could collect enough to buy materials if we give up
+sweets for the next few months."
+
+Kitty's face fell gloomily.  "I've only three and fourpence in the
+world, and it's mother's birthday next month, and Aunt May's and
+granny's the month after that, and Agatha's next week."
+
+"Don't count me!  I'm as poor as Job myself, but my old yellow sash will
+wash and make into sachets, and I'll cut the crushed parts out of hair
+ribbons, and use the ends for needlebooks.  If they are a tiny bit
+stained, I will embroider flowers over the spots.  We shall manage the
+work somehow, never fear; and think of the tea and refreshments, and
+sails in the punts!  We shall simply coin money over them.  Lilias is
+going to do the punting."
+
+"Naturally she is!"  Kitty's eyes twinkled with humorous enjoyment.
+"Easy and profitable!  Just the sort of work Lilias likes.  Oh yes, I
+agree.  I'd like to work and feel that I was reforming the world, and it
+will be great jokes.  I know what I'll do.  I'll take snap-shots at the
+company with my new Kodak, and take orders for copies.  There's an idea
+for you!  People are so vain that they always think they would like a
+photograph--until they see a proof!  If they refuse, I shall try another
+plan.  I will snap them unawares, and say, `I have taken several
+photographs of you this afternoon at moments which, perhaps, you would
+prefer not to have immortalised.  The negative is yours for two and
+six.'  How do you think that would work as a source of income?"
+
+"Better not let mother hear you talk like that, my child, or the Kodak
+will be forbidden once for all, and it is really a lovely idea!  You
+could take the punt with the different people on board, and groups
+eating refreshments, and talking to each other on the lawn.  My deah,
+you will amass fortunes!  I'm jealous of you.  I believe you will make
+far more than we shall with our tea."
+
+"But of course if it's wet"--insinuated Elsie persistently, only to be
+frowned down by her companions, who were eager to impart the second and
+most exciting piece of intelligence.
+
+"It won't be wet, Croaky!  Don't say that again.  That's one piece of
+news, then; now for the other!  Three guesses, Kitty, for a really
+convulsing piece of local gossip."
+
+"Maud is engaged?"
+
+"Not yet!  You can guess that again later on!  This special piece of
+news is not about our family at all.  Some one else!  Guess again!"
+
+"Some one I know well?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"Slightly?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"Not at all?"
+
+"Yes!"
+
+"Then how on earth can I possibly--"
+
+"It isn't necessary to know the person.  No one knows him yet, but we
+soon shall.  He is coming to--to--can't you guess?  Think of the empty
+houses near here!"
+
+"The Grange!" cried Kit, and clapped her hands with delight.  "Some one
+has bought the Grange!  How sweet of him!  Now we shall have something
+to look at.  He is coming soon, you say--oh, what fun!  We can watch the
+furniture unload, and the family arrive.  Who are they, and how many may
+they be?  Lots of girls, I hope--the right sort, with plenty of fun in
+them, and pony-carriages of their own, in which they can drive us
+about!"
+
+"We don't know a single thing about them, and can't find out.  The man
+is called Vanburgh, which is all right so far as it goes, but whether he
+is married or a bachelor--"
+
+"Of course he is married!  A bachelor would never dare to take a house
+like the Grange.  It would be downright wicked!  He is a married man,
+with a grey beard, and a fat wife, and four beauteous daughters.  I see
+them now before me, as in a mirror!"  Kitty shut her eyes behind the
+spectacles, and screwed up her face into a grimace which was meant to be
+vague and visionary, but fell a long way short of success.  She was fond
+of indulging in flights of fancy, and her friends waited for her
+utterances with smiling delight.
+
+"Yes, yes, I see them all!  Veronique, the eldest, is a stately beauty,
+tall and slender, with lustrous Spanish eyes, and locks--"
+
+"Black as the raven's wing."  Chrissie's murmur seemed a fitting climax
+to the description, but the Visionary objected to be interrupted, and
+turning scornful eyes upon her, said icily--
+
+"Quite the contrary.  Bright as pure gold!  She knows not the meaning of
+fear, and rides an Arab charger, who knows every movement of her
+mistress's hand.  She is betrothed to the scion of a noble house, and
+will shortly be led to the hymeneal altar, when we shall attend as maids
+of honour, clad in the sheen of satin and glimmer of pearls.  Gabriella,
+the second, is _mignonne_ in stature, with a wee, winsome face--"
+
+But at this point in the description Agatha spluttered with laughter,
+and Christabel rose from her seat, and began banging down books on the
+table with disdainful emphasis.
+
+"I refuse to listen any longer to such uttah rubbish."--"Wee, winsome
+face," repeated Kitty loudly, determined to finish the sentence or
+perish in the attempt.  "Eyes blue as the summer skies, and a skin of
+snow and roses.  She has a timorous, shrinking nature, and prefers a
+milk-white charger to her sister's untamed steed.  Evangeline, the
+third, has tawny locks and a dimpling smile, and makes up by charm of
+manner for what she lacks in regular beauty.  Valentine, the fourth--"
+
+But the characteristics of Miss Vanburgh number four were fated to
+remain in obscurity, for at that moment a step was heard approaching the
+schoolroom door, and the historian made a dash forward to collect her
+books, and place them on the table, before the entrance of Miss Roberts,
+the governess.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR.
+
+During the next few weeks the workmen took possession of the Grange, and
+each morning as Kit made her appearance in the schoolroom Christabel had
+some fresh item of intelligence to unfold.
+
+"A blue paper is going up in the bedroom--pale, pale blue, with loops of
+roses tied with lovers' knots--s-imply sweet! ...  Nothing but brown
+paper in the little room over the door--nasty, common brown paper like
+you use for parcels.  Hideous!  What can they be thinking of?"--and the
+girls would stare together through the windows, watching every movement
+of painters and paperers with breathless interest.
+
+Later on a still more exciting period was reached, when vanloads of
+furniture arrived, and their contents were spread about on the roadway.
+Then the Rendell girls massed themselves in the porch-room, and while
+they manufactured needle-books, and scattered bran over the floor in the
+wholesale manufacture of pincushions, Lilias played the part of Sister
+Anne, sitting with idle hands, reporting progress to the workers, and
+sounding a bugle-note of warning when any object appeared which demanded
+attention.  The numberless packing-cases were baffling to feminine
+curiosity, but the furniture itself was so unique that the most prosaic
+articles assumed a surprising interest.  There were no modern designs to
+be seen here, no cream enamelled bedroom suites, no green wood chairs,
+nor cosy corners.  Everything belonging to the house was of a sombre
+grandeur which belonged to another country than our own.  Sideboards and
+cabinets of carved Indian wood blocked up the roadway, and made black
+patches against the oak-panelled walls; overmantels of the same dusky
+hue stretched up to the ceilings, and Oriental rugs of priceless value,
+but distressing shabbiness, were spread over the floors, while the lower
+windows were covered with screens of carved wood, such as are to be seen
+over the windows of Turkish harems.
+
+Lilias, the worldly wise, was pleased to pronounce the equipments of the
+house as in "a style of quiet magnificence," but her sisters were less
+enthusiastic, and Nan screwed up her saucy nose in open disdain.
+
+"Very grand and antique-y, and all that sort of thing, but my, how dull!
+Fancy sitting in that oak-panelled room, with those black ghosts reared
+up against the walls, and the light shut out by those carved screens.  I
+should go stark, staring mad!  Give me something bright and cheerful,
+and lots of sunshine.  What worries me is that there is so little that
+is feminine and frivolous.  I haven't seen a single thing as yet that
+looks suitable for a girl's room."
+
+"But think of the cases!  All those dozens and dozens of cases.  You can
+never tell what may be inside them.  They may be stored with--"
+
+"Treasures of buhl and ormolu!" sighed Kit softly.  "That's what they
+always say in books, though I haven't the slightest idea what it means.
+Wouldn't it be a terrific blow if there were no girls after all?"
+
+But such a possibility the Rendells absolutely refused to admit.  The
+prospect of finding friends of their own age in the deserted Grange had
+taken such firm hold of their imagination, that Veronique, Evangeline,
+and Ermyntrude had already become living companions who played a part in
+their lives, and whose tastes had to be seriously considered in
+arranging the future.  They longed for the time to come when doubt would
+be put at an end; but the Vanburghs seemed in no hurry to appear, and
+meanwhile April was at hand, and, as was their custom, Mr and Mrs
+Rendell prepared to leave home on a short holiday, leaving the girls
+alone to battle with the terrors of spring-cleaning.
+
+Mrs Rendell had strong ideas on the subject of domestic education, and
+would allow no extra help to be engaged for this yearly upheaval.  It
+was timed to take place in the Easter holidays, and each girl was
+expected to take a special task in hand, and to bring it to a
+satisfactory conclusion.  She herself frankly confessed that she had
+come to a time of life when she was thankful to be spared fatigue and
+discomfort; but her husband was not so willing to make the admission,
+and talked about his proposed absence in an impersonal fashion, which
+vastly amused his hearers.
+
+"Mother has had to bear the burden of housekeeping for over twenty
+years, and I think it quite time that some of you took it off her
+shoulders.  It is good training for girls to learn everything that has
+to be done in connection with a house, so for your sakes as well as hers
+I feel it a duty to take her away."  So he spoke, and Nan rolled her
+eyes at him in mischievous fashion, poking forward her head until her
+face was but a few inches from his own.
+
+"And--er, what about your own?  You do not love the smell of soft soap,
+do you, dear?  I remember last year--"
+
+Her father waved his arms helplessly.
+
+"Everything tasted of it!  Soup, fish, puddings, everything one ate
+seemed saturated with soft soap; and there is something peculiarly
+depressing about a house with no carpets on the floors.  I feel as if I
+were going to be sold up; and if there is one thing more aggravating
+than another, it is to be obliged to sit in a fresh room every day, and
+have all one's possessions stored carefully out of sight.  Now,
+remember, whoever dusts the books in the library is only to take out a
+few at a time, and put them back--ex-actly where she found them!"
+
+"Yes, father!"
+
+"No servant is to touch them!  I know what that means--every book piled
+on the floor, and stuffed back into the shelves just as they come!  You
+girls are responsible, and must dust them yourselves."
+
+"Mine own fair hands shall do the deed--in gloves, however, for I know
+those books of old, and shall smother myself in sheets before I begin.
+I don't object to a few days' charing for a change," said Nan briskly.
+"I love rushing about in an apron, using my muscles instead of my brain,
+gathering all the ornaments together, and washing them in a nice soapy
+bath--"
+
+"And watching the water get dirty!  Isn't it lovely?" gushed Agatha
+enthusiastically.  "It isn't a bit interesting when they are only a
+little bit soiled.  I like figures and things with lots of creases where
+the dust gets in, and you have to scrub away with a nail-brush, and the
+water gets black--perfectly black!  It's lovely!"
+
+Every one laughed, even Mrs Rendell, though she felt in duty bound to
+protest at the idea of anything being "black" in her well-kept house;
+and the girls proceeded to sing the joys of spring-cleaning with
+youthful fervour.
+
+"What I like best are the picnic meals," said Chrissie.  "We always have
+the same things for lunch--a round of cold salt beef and beetroot, and
+coffee, and bread and jam.  It is all put on the table at once, and we
+all carve for ourselves, and march about the room with aprons on, and
+behave as badly as we like.  Then we have tea about three, and cold meat
+again for dinner, and fruit instead of pudding, and are all so stiff
+that we can hardly move, and all fighting to have the first hot bath.
+The water gets cold after the second, so it's a great thing to be first,
+if you can."
+
+"And there are such amusing _contretemps_!" said Maud, the good-natured.
+"There seems to be a special imp of mischief abroad at these times, for
+something is bound to go wrong.  You can't guard against it, for it is
+always the last thing you could expect, and it happens at the worst
+moment, and in some extraordinary manner stops all the wheels of the
+machinery.  It is really excruciatingly funny--"
+
+"You don't think so at the time!  When Agatha knocked a nail into the
+gas-pipe on Thursday afternoon, when the shops were closed, and all the
+men had gone off to a beanfeast, you didn't think it much of a joke
+then!" said Elsie darkly.  "We tried leaving the nail in and smearing
+the hole with soap, but the gas came out in gusts, and we had to turn it
+off, and there were only two candles in the house. ...  We sat all
+evening in the dark, and undressed together in one room, because we were
+obliged to give the servants one of the candles.  It wasn't in the least
+funny, and you didn't think so either."
+
+"Oh, I don't know!  It gave us a rest, which we wanted badly, and it is
+amusing to think of afterwards.  I've often thought of it, and laughed
+to myself,"--and Maud laughed again, the happy, kindly laugh which was
+the outward sign of a sweet-hearted nature.
+
+Altogether it was a very cheerful little party of workers whom the
+parents left behind when the hour for departure arrived.  It was a
+bright, inspiriting spring morning, just one of the days when it is
+delightful to start off on the first holiday of the year, and Mr and
+Mrs Rendell looked fully appreciative of the fact.  He was attired in a
+new suit, while his wife, not to be outdone, had provided herself with a
+pretty blue coat and skirt, and a flowered toque which was perhaps a
+trifle more summery than the season justified.  After twenty-five years
+of married life, it was still a delight to this husband and wife to
+steal off for a holiday by themselves, and Mrs Rendell took the same
+delight in her husband's approval as when she had first become his wife.
+Every detail of her attire was daintily correct, and so pretty did she
+look, so trig and smart, that her six big daughters stared at her in
+admiration.
+
+"Perfectly s-weet!" was Chrissie's verdict; then her eyes passed on to
+her handsome, stalwart father, and a twinkle of amusement showed in her
+eyes.  "They both do!  And so spick and span--everything new from head
+to foot.  They might be a newly-married couple--a trifle elderly, but
+ve-ry well preserved!  I shouldn't wonder if people thought they were.
+How would it be if we hid a little rice?--"
+
+"Happy thought!  A most delicate attention.  Keep them talking for a few
+minutes while I pay a visit to the kitchen," cried Nan, deftly nipping
+up the roll of umbrellas, and disappearing from the hall, to return with
+the meekest of meek faces, and bid a fond adieu to the parents for whose
+confusion she had been planning.
+
+When the carriage drove off, the conspiracy was divulged to the other
+girls, who fully appreciated the humour of the position, but were
+unanimously eager to disclaim responsibility.
+
+"I'd give worlds to be there when they open the straps!" cried Agatha.
+"It will be too killingly funny.  They will both jump and get red in the
+face--father from laughter, and mother from rage.  Oh-oh, it's lovely;
+but I didn't do it, remember!  I hadn't a suspicion of it until this
+minute!"
+
+"I couldn't have allowed it, if you had consulted me, but I'm glad you
+didn't!"  Maud declared.  "It will be exciting hearing how it comes off.
+They won't need rugs or umbrellas in the train, but crossing the
+Channel mother is sure to feel chilly, as she will never sit in the
+cabin.  Father will settle her comfortably in a chair on deck and
+proceed to unfasten the rugs.  Every one will look on, for there is
+nothing else to do on board ship but stare at your companions.  Then
+patter, patter, patter, down the rice will fall, and roll along the
+deck.  I can see it all!  And the more they blush, the younger they will
+look; and the angrier and more confused they are, the more natural it
+will seem.  Oh, I do hope and trust it comes off on the steamer!"
+
+"It would be even better in the train!" said Lilias wisely.  "If they
+once get settled in the train to Paris, they would be stuck with the
+same people for five mortal hours, whether they liked it or not, and
+they would stare, and stare, and stare.  Whatever father and mother
+said, it would make no difference, for they would think they were only
+pretending.  Oh, Nan, I wouldn't be you!  You will catch it!"
+
+Nan shrugged her shoulders recklessly.  "Time works wonders.  If they
+were coming home to-morrow I should tremble; but after ten days'
+galumptious holiday it wouldn't be in human nature to come home and be
+cross with a poor, hard-working Cinderella.  Besides, why should they be
+vexed?  When I'm married you can use as much rice as you like.  I don't
+mind if I scatter it broadcast wherever I go.  I shall just smile back
+in the people's faces, and hang on to Adolphus for support.  If I can
+afford a little amusement to my fellow-creatures, I shall not be so
+selfish as to object; and I must say that for my own part I do adore
+finding out a bride and bridegroom, and staring at them with all my
+eyes."
+
+"I shall never marry; but if I do I shall wear my oldest clothes on my
+honeymoon, and snap at my husband every time he opens his mouth.  That's
+the way to manage!" said Christabel with an air, and the two elder girls
+exchanged smiles of amusement.  Neither of them volunteered any
+information as to how she herself would behave in the circumstances, for
+the nearer such a possibility becomes, the less easy it is to discuss it
+in indifferent fashion.  Lilias dropped her lids in smiling modesty, and
+Maud's eyes shone with a happy glow.  She was twenty-three now, and for
+the last four years a secret hope had dwelt in her heart, and invested
+the future with charm.  It had begun on a certain holiday time, when Jim
+for the second or third time had brought home his friend Ned Talbot for
+a visit, and Ned had caught his foot in a rabbit-hole, and sprained it
+so severely that he was a prisoner at Thurston House for weeks, instead
+of days.  Lilias and Nan were away at school at that time, but Maud had
+finished her education, and shared with her mother the task of amusing
+the invalid.  She read aloud to him; played on the piano; was demolished
+at Halma; and, above all, talked to him on one topic after another,
+growing ever more and more intimate, until at the end of the visit it
+had seemed as if there was no secret which was held back from Ned
+Talbot's knowledge.  He had not said so much in return, but there was no
+sense of chill in his reserve.  He was naturally silent, and a word from
+him meant more than many protestations from another.  Maud knew that he
+enjoyed her society by a hundred indefinable signs; and when they bade
+each other good-bye, the glance of the dark eyes seemed to speak of a
+warmer interest than that of friendship.  Since then four years had
+passed by, and twice a year at least Ned had contrived to pay a visit to
+Waybourne.
+
+Now that the other girls were at home there were no longer opportunities
+for uninterrupted converse, for, as the eldest daughter of a large
+household, Maud was often compelled to busy herself with household
+duties, leaving the charge of entertainment to the younger girls; but
+she felt sure that Ned understood, and no trace of dissatisfaction
+clouded her gentle spirit.  She calculated happily that four months had
+passed since his last appearance, and felt her cheeks flush as she
+remembered Jim's accounts of a recent prosperous change in his friend's
+business.  A great step upward had been taken during the last year, and
+now, for the first time, Talbot was in a position to keep a wife!  This
+being so, who could tell what might happen next?  The hour to which she
+had looked forward to so long, when Ned would give her a right to love
+him and to be his helpmeet in life, might be close at hand.  Oh, it was
+a good world, a beautiful world!  Life was in its spring, and every
+opening bud and flower in the green world without seemed to typify the
+hope in her own heart!
+
+The next few days witnessed a perfect rush of industry.  It was no light
+task to complete the cleaning of so large a house in ten days' time, but
+many hands make light work; and while the servants scrubbed and scoured,
+the girls performed the lighter duties, washing ornaments, polishing
+pictures, turning faded draperies, sewing on new lengths of fringe,
+until old bottles were, if not exactly converted into new, at least
+assured a fresh lease of juvenility.  There was always a rush to get the
+work finished a day or two before the parents' return, for the time that
+was over was legally the girls' own, to be employed in whatsoever manner
+seemed most pleasing.  Christabel stayed in bed to breakfast; Agatha ate
+apples and read novels all day long; Elsie made copious entries in her
+diary, and wore her hair in the picturesque confusion which she
+considered becoming, and felt it cruel of her mother to forbid; Nan
+worked in her studio, and came down to dinner in a flannel shirt; Lilias
+wore her best clothes, and went up to town to see and be seen; and Maud
+dreamt dreams at her ease, without the disturbing consciousness of work
+undone.
+
+By the end of the week the carpets were cleaned and ready to put down,
+and it was decided that the drawing-room felting should be laid first of
+all, because in itself it was a more lengthy task than the mere laying
+of squares, and also because the after work of arranging pictures and
+china would be greater here than elsewhere.  The three maids shut
+themselves in the room together for an hour or more, and at the end of
+the time adjourned in a body to the library, where the young mistresses
+were busy arranging books.  They looked flushed and discouraged, and
+each of the three had her own comments to make upon the situation.  Cook
+reported that "that there felting wouldn't come right nohow."  Mary put
+her hand to her heart, and said her inside ached with dragging the
+tiresome thing; and bright-eyed Jane smiled cheerfully, and vowed that
+"she didn't believe it never would meet no more."  The girls adjourned
+into the drawing-room to investigate the difficulty, and found the
+felting neatly fastened at three sides, but steadily refusing to come
+within inches of the fourth wall.
+
+"Seems as if it's shrunk itself somehow in the cleaning," said cook
+dolefully; but Maud only laughed, and went forward to the rescue in her
+cheery, capable manner.
+
+"Oh, nonsense, cook!  If the cleaning did anything, it would stretch it
+and make it bigger.  It is purposely made rather a tight fit, or it
+would go into wrinkles, which would never do.  It only wants a little
+coaxing.  Nan and Agatha, you have the strongest arms, go over there and
+pull as hard as you can, while Elsie and I push towards you."
+
+No sooner said than done.  Maud and Elsie went down on their knees, and
+travelled slowly across the floor, pushing infinitesimal creases before
+them, while the others pulled and strained to make the most of the
+advantage thus given.  It was a lengthy business, and the crawling
+operation was repeated several times over before the first ring could be
+induced to catch over its nail; but when this was done hope began to
+revive, and the pushing and tugging was carried on with such vigour that
+presently the last fastening was secured, and the workers rested from
+their labours, weary, yet triumphant.
+
+"My back!" groaned Elsie, straightening herself with a groan; "it's
+broken in two.  I feel as if I could never stand erect again."
+
+"My hands!" groaned Agatha, stretching out her arms, and slowly
+uncurling ten cramped-up fingers.  "They ache.  Whew!  I never worked so
+hard in my life.  I shall be more careful about spilling crumbs on this
+carpet in the future, now that I know what it means to have it cleaned.
+How you ever got it up I can't think.  It must have been even more
+difficult than putting it down."
+
+"Broke every nail I 'ave," said cook concisely.  "It's not woman's work,
+and that's the truth.  We 'ad ought to 'ave 'ad a man to do it that 'ad
+proper tools; but there, it's done, thank goodness, for another year,
+and it's the worst in the house.  Them squares is no trouble."
+
+"No; I think you can manage the squares yourselves; but first of all we
+will have the furniture brought in here.  The house looks so forlorn
+with the hall blocked up, and if we get one room tidy, we shall feel
+that we are getting on," said Maud, who as yet had not risen from the
+floor, but sat with feet stretched out, gathering resolution to begin
+work afresh.  She stretched out her hands and drew herself slowly along
+towards the farther side of the room; but scarcely had she moved a
+couple of feet when she gave an exclamation of dismay, and, stopping
+short, passed her hand over the surface of the felting.
+
+"Whatever is this?  Something sticking up through the felting!  Sharp
+little points, here and there.  Dozens of them all about!  What can they
+be?"
+
+The others hastened to the spot, and gazed with horror-stricken eyes at
+a number of minute molehills showing distinctly in the felting, and each
+one presenting a sharp point when investigated by the touch.
+
+"It's nails!" croaked Elsie deeply; and at that cook gave a groan of
+dismay.
+
+"It is, for sure!  Them dratted tacks!  Your Mar said we was to put in a
+tack here and there between the rings, and there was a saucerful just
+there.  Somebody has knocked it over, I expect, and scattered them about
+the floor."
+
+Maud looked round with a despairing glance.  The accident had happened
+in the worst possible position, as such accidents are invariably
+supposed to do, the nails being spilt a couple of yards from the wall,
+in such a position that two sides of the carpet must be unfastened
+before they could be removed.  She stared at her sisters, and they
+stared back in a long, sullen silence.
+
+"We can't do it again, and we sha'n't!" said Nan recklessly.  "Send for
+a man, and let him break his fingers for a change.  I need mine for
+another purpose."
+
+"Thursday afternoon, my dear.  The shops are shut, and not a man to be
+had."
+
+"Never saw anything like it.  It always is Thursday afternoon!  Put a
+table over the place then, and leave the tacks where they are.  No one
+will see them."
+
+"Oh, Nan, as if a table could stay in the same place for a year.
+Besides, the nails are bound to come out; if we don't take them away,
+they'll work little holes for themselves, and then what would mother
+say?  There's no use shirking it.  The carpet has to come up again, and
+we shall have to do it."
+
+"It's too disgusting!  All this time wasted, and now to find ourselves
+farther back than when we started.  I could cry!" protested Elsie
+dolefully; and Maud gave a little flop of impatience.
+
+"Oh, so could I--howl, if that would do any good; but it won't, so we
+might as well stop talking and set to work.  Begin at once, Jane,
+please; we'll push, and make it as easy as possible."
+
+The workers crawled wearily back to their posts, while the audience, in
+the shape of Lilias and Christabel, stood in the doorway and cheered
+them with derisive comments.
+
+"Amusing _contretemps_, isn't it?  Reminds one of Maud's ecstasies the
+other evening.  Quite pleased, aren't you, Maudie, to have another
+illustration of the humours of house-cleaning?"
+
+"Never mind, darlings, keep cool!  You'll think it very funny in six
+months' time.  If you work hard you'll finish by to-morrow morning!"
+
+The glances cast upon the miscreants in reply to their witticisms were
+so threatening, that they ran back to the library to stifle their
+laughter; but five minutes had not elapsed before they were back again,
+gasping in consternation.
+
+"A caller!  Some one at the door!  Can't see properly, but it's a man!
+A young man in a frock coat and a tall hat.  What shall we do?"
+
+"Send him away, of course.  Jane, quick! put on a clean apron, and tell
+the gentleman that Mrs Rendell is away from home.  If he asks for us--
+we are engaged.  Sorry you can't ask him in, as the house is upset.
+He'll see that for himself," added Maud, in a resigned tone, as Jane
+hurried from the room.  "The hall looks as if it were in the midst of a
+removal, and if he had had any sense he would have known from the look
+of the windows that we were not in a fit state to receive callers.
+Anyhow, he will have to go away now."
+
+The visitor, however, refused to go away, for, to the consternation of
+the listeners, the parley at the front door was succeeded by the sound
+of footsteps picking their way through the piled-up furniture, and
+Jane's suggestion of "The library, sir," was apparently neglected, for
+the tramp came nearer and nearer to the drawing-room door.  Six pairs of
+hands were raised to smooth six ruffled heads, Maud twitched down her
+sleeves, Lilias stood in an attitude of graceful attention, and the next
+moment the door was thrown open, and Ned Talbot's deep voice called out
+a greeting.
+
+"May I come in?  I refused to be turned away at the door.  How does
+everybody do?  You look very busy.  I am going to stay and help you."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+NAN PLAYS HELPER.
+
+Alas for Maud!  Had it been for this that she had lived in dreams since
+October last, planning afresh, and yet afresh, every detail of the next
+meeting with Ned?  Had it been for this that she had mentally arranged
+background, occasion, opportunity, sending abroad mother, and sisters
+five, and seating herself in solitude to await Ned's arrival?  Had it
+been for this that she had cherished her dainty new blouse, refusing to
+crush it beneath cloak or shawl, and appearing over and over again in
+the pink of a bygone age, so that it might appear in its first beauty
+for Ned's inspection?  Oh, it was hard to have planned so well, and then
+to be discovered with ruffled hair, flushed cheeks, and unbecoming
+attire!  Lilias was only the more picturesque for her working attire,
+and was even now shaking hands with the visitor, and welcoming him in
+pretty, winsome fashion, as the other girls shook down skirts and
+aprons, and took furtive peeps in the looking-glass.
+
+"Mr Talbot.  You!  This is a surprise.  It is delightful to see you
+again, but we are so upset!  We are in the throes of spring-cleaning, as
+you perceive.  Have you come from town?  Agatha, Chrissie, bring in a
+few chairs!  This is the only room that has a pretence of a carpet, but
+at any rate we can give you a chair to sit upon."
+
+"But I don't want one.  I have been sitting in the train, and would
+rather stand for a change, or, still better, help with some work.
+Please don't treat me as a visitor!  What were you about when I came in?
+Laying a carpet?  Six of you!  It doesn't take six women to lay one
+carpet, surely!"
+
+Nan groaned dismally.
+
+"It does indeed, and then they can't do it!  It's nasty, horrid, rough,
+heavy work, only fit for men, and not for our poor little fingers.  We
+had just succeeded, with immense labour, in fastening it all round when
+we made the cheerful discovery that a boxful of nails are scattered over
+the floor beneath.  You came in at the ghastly moment when it had dawned
+upon us that it had all to come up again!"
+
+Nan waved her hand with a tragic movement towards the little heap of
+nails, then, making a sudden step forward, caught her foot in a loose
+piece of braid at the bottom of her skirt, and went rushing forward at a
+headlong run, to be caught in Ned Talbot's arms, and so rescued from
+destruction against a corner of the wall.
+
+"Nan, I told you that that braid was torn!  I told you to sew it up!  I
+_told_ you you'd trip and hurt yourself," cried Maud reproachfully; but
+the culprit only laid her hand over her heart, and gurgled in impenitent
+amusement.
+
+"But I didn't, you see!  I came off all right.  It's only a little end--
+not worth talking about!"--and she took a couple of pins from the corner
+of her apron and began fastening up the offending loop, while her sister
+lifted her hands in disapproval.
+
+"Pins?  They won't hold!  Better go upstairs and sew it at once.  If you
+don't, I warn you, Nan,"--but Maud did not get any further in her
+prophecy, for Ned Talbot came over to her side, and looked down at her
+with kindly, anxious eyes.
+
+"Maud, you look so tired!  Don't trouble any more about the carpet; I'll
+manage it for you.  What's the good of a great lumbering six-footer if
+he can't manage a little job like that!  I'll have it up and down again
+before you can say `Jack Robinson,' and then we will have our talk in
+comfort."
+
+"It's more difficult than you think," said Maud dolefully; but Ned only
+laughed, then proceeded to take off his coat and go down on his knees to
+attack the obstinate rings.  The workers took advantage of the
+opportunity to adjust hair-pins, and divest themselves of soiled aprons,
+while Lilias, having no such defects to remedy, developed sudden
+interest in the work on hand, and knelt down on the floor beside him,
+holding out first one implement and then another for his use.  The
+softly-tinted face and cloudy golden hair looked lovelier than ever
+about the long white smock which she had adopted as her working costume,
+and poor Maud stared at her own heated reflection with increased
+disfavour, the while she whispered in Nan's ear--
+
+"I suppose he expects to stay for the evening.  So awkward!  Can we ask
+him, do you think, when mother's away?"
+
+"Mother would be very much annoyed if we sent away an old friend, who
+has stayed in the house dozens of times, without even offering him a
+meal; especially when he has travelled twenty miles to see us!"
+
+"But, my dear, what have we got?  I can't give him dinner.  There's
+nothing in the house but cold meat."
+
+"Cutlets and tinned fruit--the refuge of the destitute!  Send Mary
+flying to the butcher's!"
+
+"It's Thursday afternoon!"
+
+Nan's groan of dismay brought Ned Talbot's head round in inquiry.  The
+rings were giving way obediently in his strong grasp, and Lilias was
+clapping her hands at each fresh success, and chatting away in animated
+fashion.  The sisters waited until the work was resumed, and then
+continued the whispered conference.
+
+"It always _is_ Thursday when we want anything.  People should never be
+allowed to shut their shops.  Cold meat it must be, then, and nothing
+else, I'm afraid.  We might manage to manufacture a few made dishes from
+the tinned things in the store-room, but _entrees_ and savouries seem
+out of place in the middle of spring-cleaning, and the dining-room is
+impassable--a perfect block."
+
+"We might alter that if we put out the things that are needed for this
+room.  We had better go and do it now, for we don't seem needed here any
+longer,"--and Maud cast a wistful look towards the two kneeling figures
+in the corner.  She envied Lilias her position; but it never entered
+into her honest heart to mistrust her sister's loyalty, or to put a
+cynical construction upon this sudden show of industry.  All the girls
+were fond of Ned; it was only natural that Lilias should want to help
+him.  She held out her poor, roughened hands, and looked appealingly at
+Nan as they stood outside the drawing-room door.
+
+"I might wash them, mightn't I, and put on a pair of cuffs, and a fresh
+tie?  I won't change my blouse, of course; but he is a man, and wouldn't
+notice what I'd done--only perhaps that I looked a little bit nicer!"
+
+Nan nodded silently, a lump rising in her throat at the sight of the
+wistful face.  She was the only one of the sisters who had been told the
+secret of Maud's heart, and the bond between these two girls was very
+strong and tender.  She watched Maud until she disappeared from sight,
+with her lips screwed tightly together, and her eyebrows meeting in an
+ominous frown across her forehead.  She felt very fierce and formidable
+at that moment, and it was a positive relief to be able to vent some of
+her pent-up irritation in work, so for the next ten minutes she dragged
+and tugged at the piled-up furniture, making order out of confusion, and
+carrying the lighter drawing-room articles into the hall, in readiness
+to be put into their proper places.  Then Maud reappeared, smartened up
+by those subtle touches which every woman knows how to bestow, and no
+man is able to understand, though the result is patent to his eyes; and
+after a second consultation on the subject of dinner, a return was made
+to the drawing-room, to see how the carpet-laying was progressing.  Ned
+Talbot was still on his knees, but now he was fastening instead of
+unfastening the rings, while Lilias was exhibiting a cup full of sharp,
+jagged little nails.  The dreaded task was almost accomplished, and that
+in less time than would have been possible with the united efforts of
+the feminine household.
+
+"Done already?" cried the new-comers; and Agatha shook her mane with a
+melancholy air.
+
+"It's s-imply wondrous!  He just pulls, and the thing meets as easy as
+winking.  It doesn't seem a bit difficult.  And to think how we almost
+killed ourselves!  It's humiliating!"
+
+"Don't feel it so at all.  If I am beaten at carpet-laying all my life,
+I'll never repine.  It's a woman's duty to do nice things, and pleasant
+things, and pretty things, and leave the men to do the hard bits," said
+Elsie, standing on one leg to relieve the pain which had come from long
+kneeling, and looking with melancholy significance at her thin little
+arms.  "Look at those compared to his!  Nature never intended me--"
+
+Ned fastened the last hook, and straightened his back with a sigh of
+satisfaction.
+
+"Done!  That's all right.  I'm glad I came in time, for it's stiffish
+work.  I am staying in town for a few days, and thought I would chance
+it this afternoon, and run down to see you for a few hours."
+
+He looked at Maud as he spoke, and she hesitated uncertainly, thinking
+once again of her mother's absence, the disordered rooms, the prescribed
+contents of the larder.
+
+"It was very good of you, and we are very pleased.  Will you--er--will
+you be able to stop and dine?"
+
+"Thank you very much.  Your sister has already asked me.  If it wouldn't
+be giving you too much trouble."
+
+"Oh, no trouble!  I mean, of course, we are very much upset, and I don't
+quite know what we can give you, but if you will stay we will do our
+best!"
+
+"Now, Mr Talbot, listen to me!" interrupted Nan decisively.  "There are
+two alternatives open to you, and you can take your choice.  Would you
+rather sit here by yourself, looking at albums and illustrated books
+while Mary changes her dress, and cook flies into a temper preparing a
+proper dinner, and Jane helps to tidy the dining-room, and Maud ransacks
+the store--room, and Elsie polishes up silver, and Chrissie cuts
+flowers, and I--"
+
+Ned Talbot threw up his hands in despair.
+
+"Mercy!  What next?  Please stop, Nan.  You make me feel the most
+shocking intruder.  If I am to cause such an upset, the sooner I rush
+back to the station the better.  What is the alternative?  Tell it me at
+once.  You said I had a choice!"
+
+"The alternative," said Nan slowly, beaming upon him the while, in a
+friendly, encouraging fashion, "the alternative is what would happen to
+us if we were alone, and you had not arrived.  Dinner in the schoolroom,
+with the library pictures ranged along the walls, and the books piled on
+the floor.  No flowers--no fruit--no waiting--no evening dress.
+Everything on the table at once, and very little of that.  Cold beef--
+very good cold beef!  I'll answer for that, for we've had it two days
+already--potatoes in their jackets, perhaps one other vegetable..."
+
+"Nan!" cried Maud protestingly; but Talbot gazed at her with a smile,
+shadowed only by a faint anxiety.
+
+"Pickles?" he queried eagerly.  "Put my mind at rest on that point
+before we go any further!  Surely there are pickles?"
+
+"Pickles, cer-tainly!  As many as you like; but mostly onions, I am
+afraid, for we like the cauliflowery bits best, and poke about with the
+fork to get them out first.  But there are lots of onions.  Cold beef
+and pickles, then, and something plain and wholesome in the shape of a
+pudding, such as stewed prunes and rice; biscuits and cheese to follow;
+and a really good cup of coffee made by our own fair hands."
+
+"It's a feast for the gods!  Nothing I should like better.  Don't you
+know, Nan, that nine out of ten Englishmen would rather be set down
+opposite a joint of meat than half a dozen kickshaws!  It will be like
+old times to have a meal in the schoolroom, and if you will really let
+me stay, and treat me exactly like one of yourselves, I shall enjoy it
+more than a dozen dinner parties.  You will promise faithfully to make
+no alteration whatever in the _menu_?"
+
+"Certainly, if you wish it."
+
+"And--er--you will not feel it necessary to dress on my behalf!  I can
+make no change myself, so please don't confound me by your
+magnificence."
+
+Lazy Nan consented readily enough, but once more the thought of the blue
+silk blouse sent a pang of disappointment to Maud's heart.  She should
+not be able to wear it after all, and the long hoarding up had been in
+vain.  She reflected on the disappointing nature of earthly hopes, with
+a melancholy which would have done credit to Elsie herself, as she took
+her way downstairs to interview cook on the subject of dinner.  It is
+one thing to give a promise to make no difference in a _menu_, and
+another to keep that promise to the letter, as every housekeeper knows;
+and even if circumstances did not allow of any substantial addition to
+the meal, there were a dozen little contrivances by which it could be
+given an air of elegance and distinction.  They took time to arrange,
+however, as all such contriving do, and cook was cross at being asked to
+undertake fresh duties, and wished to know what people wanted coming
+worriting about a house when a child in arms could see he wasn't wanted!
+Maud smiled at the reflection that, in this instance, the child would
+be vastly mistaken in his views, but did her best to soothe the offended
+dignitary; and finally matters were smoothed over by Mary being told off
+to help in the kitchen, while Maud herself undertook the arrangement of
+the table.
+
+"Nan will help me," she told herself encouragingly, as she mounted the
+staircase and saw through the window a procession of girlish figures
+making their way down the garden path, escorting Ned to a survey of the
+daffodils and spring bulbs, for which Mr Rendell was famous among
+amateur gardeners.  Lilias walked first, a dainty figure against the
+background of fresh green; slim little Elsie picked her way daintily
+over the gravel; Agatha followed, large and beaming; and Christabel
+majestically brought up the rear.  Maud pressed her face against the
+window and watched with a spasm of envy.  Oh, to be out, enjoying
+herself with the rest--to let everything take care of itself, and take
+her place by Ned's side!  Too bad to be kept indoors when her
+opportunity had come at last, and the sun was shining, and all Nature
+seemed bright and gay!  No one seemed to have thought of her, or of
+offering to help, except Nan--dear, good, thoughtless, and yet most
+thoughtful of Nans; and here she came, flying three steps at a time,
+upstairs to the rescue.
+
+"Oh, you are here!  I've been searching downstairs.  Out you go!  If
+there's anything to do indoors, I'll do it.  Your place is in the
+garden."
+
+"I've been in the kitchen, and cook was so cross that I told off Mary to
+help her.  I promised to lay the table."
+
+"I'll do it for you!"
+
+Maud tried not to smile.  Well she knew what would happen if the work
+were left in Nan's care.  Crooked cloth, forks and spoons looking as if
+they had been tossed upon the table; as likely as not, no cruets nor
+water-bottles; and a general air of slipshod carelessness, which would
+more than defeat all her arrangements.
+
+"I--er--think I ought to look after it myself," she said apologetically;
+"but please help me, dear!  If we work together we'll get it done in no
+time, and then I can go out and enjoy myself with an easy mind."
+
+"I want you to go now.  If you think I can't manage alone, send in
+Chrissie.  She's even more particular than you, and I'll do as she tells
+me like a lamb!" said Nan, not one whit offended at the implied slight
+on her own powers; but Maud shook her head.
+
+"I couldn't!  I never ask help in an ordinary way, and I couldn't do it
+to-day!"
+
+"Too proud?"
+
+"Much!"
+
+"Good for you!  I'd feel the same.  Come on, then; let's set to work and
+get it over.  He'll be wondering what you are doing.  Where are the
+things?"
+
+"Mary has taken up some already, and the rest are in the pantry.  I'll
+tell you what I want, and you can carry up a trayful at a time while I
+set the cloth.  I know exactly how I want everything laid, you see!"
+
+"Don't apologise, my love.  I know I'm no good at finnicky work, but
+I'll fetch and carry with the best.  Knives--yes!  Glass--yes!  Plates--
+yes!  Leave the plates till the last, and bring up the rest first.
+Yes'um!  I understand!  Knives and tumblers for seven.  They shall be
+yours before you can say `Jack Robinson.'"
+
+"Not too quick, now!" cried Maud warningly; but Nan was off, leaping
+downstairs in a succession of daring bounds, swinging round corners at
+break-neck speed, and singing at the pitch of her voice, after the usual
+decorous and ladylike manner in which she was wont to descend to the
+lower regions.
+
+Left to herself, Maud took a couple of steps towards the window, turned
+back resolutely, spread the cloth over the table, and went back at a run
+to peer behind the curtains and see what was going on in the garden.
+Chrissie and Agatha were strolling about arm in arm; Elsie walked apart,
+bowed in thought; Lilias flitted among the flower--beds, gesticulating
+with graceful _abandon_ as she called Ned's attention to the choicest
+blooms.  Maud could hear her pretty ecstasies as plainly as though she
+had been standing by her side.
+
+"The little dears!  Aren't they just _too_ sweet?  Don't you love the
+first spring flowers?  They seem so full of hope and promise!"
+
+She had heard it all before, every time that a visitor was taken round
+the garden; and just for a moment a wish passed through Maud's mind that
+her beautiful sister were not quite so fond of acting a part for the
+benefit of strangers!  As a matter of fact, Lilias took less interest in
+the garden than any of the girls, yet she always gushed the most!  The
+next moment she pulled herself up sharply, abashed to have cherished
+such uncharitable sentiments, and went on resolutely with the laying of
+the table.  Spoons and forks had been neatly laid in their places before
+Nan's approaching footsteps could be heard ploughing upstairs to an
+accompaniment of jingling glass and steel.  She had taken the warning to
+heart, apparently, for there was a noticeable pause between each
+footstep; but, alas! when the top of the stair was reached, there came a
+sudden and violent change in her procedure.  Maud heard a gasp, and
+then, even as she started forward to investigate the cause, in rushed
+Nan, head foremost, the contents of the tray raining on the ground,
+while she stumbled helplessly forward, and finally collapsed on the
+floor in a nest of knives and broken glass, to lift up her voice in a
+wail of anguish.
+
+"Oh, oh, oh!  I caught my foot!  That horrid braid tripped me up at the
+very last step, and sent me flying forward.  What shall I do?"
+
+"I told you,"--began Maud, but stopped abruptly, knowing by experience
+how trying it was to be reminded of past warnings.  "Oh dear, the fright
+you gave me!  To fall down with such a dangerous load.  Nan, are you
+hurt?"
+
+"I'm killed!" cried Nan, with a sniff.  "Talk of your fright, indeed:
+I'm shaking all over.  I'll run away and drown myself.  Always make a
+mess of everything I do!  What will mother say?"
+
+"Don't worry about that, dear.  You were trying to help, and being so
+good and kind, and half a dozen tumblers are not a deadly thing.  That
+won't ruin us.  It might have been far worse."
+
+"It is!" sighed Nan.  "Two water-bottles--the best ones, too.  I thought
+they'd look so nice.  Oh dear; oh dear; and just when I thought I was
+getting on so well!  I came up so slowly, stopping at every step.  You
+might have heard me--"
+
+"I did; but you know, Nan, I said before--Never mind, it's done now, so
+it's no use groaning.  You look so white, dear; I am afraid you have had
+a shock.  Don't try to do anything more, but go to your room and take
+some sal volatile, and lie down until dinner."
+
+But at that Nan rose to her feet with a laugh of derision.
+
+"I!  I act the fine lady, and go to bed for a fall?  Not likely.  I
+shall have to work harder than ever to make up for this.  The knives
+might as well go in their places first, and then I'll go down and get
+something to brush up the glass.  Don't you come: it's dangerous walking
+over here, and I can do it quite well."
+
+"Nan, please leave it to me!  I am sure you are hurt, though you won't
+acknowledge it.  Sit down and rest, if it's only for five minutes."
+
+But Nan would not be persuaded.  She picked up the knives and hobbled
+round the table, laying them in their places and tossing her head with
+an air of triumph, oblivious of the fact that a drop of blood marked
+each stage of her progress, leaving a vivid stain on the fresh white
+cloth.  A groan of dismay from Maud's lips aroused her attention,
+whereupon she flushed red with dismay, and stared down at her cut
+fingers with an air of shocked surprise.
+
+It was really too aggravating, and even placid Maud felt aroused to
+irritation; but it is difficult to upbraid an offender who is herself
+overcome with penitence, and who lavishes such violent reproaches upon
+her own head, as Nan now proceeded to do.
+
+"Oh, mussey me, I thought they felt queer!  They are cut all over.
+Lockjaw, I suppose.  I shall never be able to speak distinctly any more,
+but have to push all my food between my teeth, like poor Jane Smith.
+Oh, Maud, Maud, I wanted to help, and I've only made things worse than
+before!  I always do.  Do please scold and get cross.  Don't look so
+wretched.  Abuse me as I deserve!"
+
+"What's the good?" sighed Maud dismally.  "You didn't mean to do it, and
+it's done, and can't be undone.  Come to my room and I'll bandage your
+hands.  I'm not afraid of lockjaw, but you can't go about any longer
+like that.  Then we must get a clean cloth, and begin again."
+
+Poor Maud!  She set her lips and went through the new duties without
+shirking or skimping, resolutely avoiding a look into the garden.  There
+was no chance now of being able to join Ned before dinner, and as soon
+as the meal was over he would be obliged to hurry off to catch the last
+train.  After all the longing and expectation, it seemed as though she
+were to meet with nothing but disappointment.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+DOUBT AND DREAD.
+
+Maud had just time to change her working attire for a dress which was
+suitable for the evening, though not sufficiently dressy to break the
+compact which had been made with the visitor, before the gong sounded,
+and she returned to the schoolroom to join the other members of the
+party.  Ned was standing beside the fireplace, and greeted her with a
+pleasant smile as she entered.
+
+"You didn't come out and join us in the garden," he said; and when she
+replied with a vague murmur, "Ah, well," he added lightly, "perhaps you
+were just as wise.  There is a decided nip in the air still, and if you
+get out of the sun, you are apt to feel chilled."
+
+Maud's eyes opened with a quick glance of surprise, but she made no
+remark.  The words had chilled her as no east wind could have done.  Did
+Ned really believe that she would have stayed indoors and sacrificed an
+hour of his society for fear of a slight discomfort?  If he thought
+this, he was indeed unconscious of the true nature of her feelings
+towards him; and though Maud was the last girl in the world to wear her
+heart on her sleeve, she had been happy to believe that she and Ned
+understood each other, and could count on a mutual affection.  She did
+not know which hurt the more, the suggestion of her own indifference or
+the unruffled serenity with which it was made.  As she sat opposite Ned
+at dinner, she studied his face, to see if she could find there a
+reflection of the depression which was stealing over her own heart, but
+looked in vain.  Truth compelled her to admit that she had never seen
+him brighter, more radiant, more full of life and animation.  She tried
+her best to throw off the cloud on her own spirits and to enter into the
+conversation, but the effort was not a success.  The hands of the clock
+on the mantelpiece held her in fascinated attention.  Every stroke
+seemed, to sound the knell of the bright hopes with which she had looked
+forward to this meeting, every stroke brought the parting nearer.
+
+If Maud did not speak, the other girls more than made up for her
+silence, talking all together in true Rendell fashion, and telling the
+news of the last few months in their usual breathlessly eager fashion.
+Until now, conversation had had no chance of becoming general, and each
+one had some personal items of information to offer which appeared to
+her to be of absorbing interest.  Lilias had paid a visit to an old
+school friend, where she had had many pleasing adventures, which she
+related in characteristic manner.  Her sisters often discussed what it
+was which gave to Lilias's stories such a suggestive and flattering
+atmosphere.  It must have been something peculiar in the way in which
+they were told; for though she never said such a thing in so many words,
+the hearers were yet impressed by the fact that she had played a leading
+part, had been surfeited with admiration, and positively oppressed by
+the attentions which she had received!  This evening was no exception to
+the rule; for as she spoke the listeners saw before them a picture of
+her own lovely figure moving like a queen through the scenes which she
+described, her humble vassals following in her wake.  Lilias must be
+cleverer than most people supposed, Nan told herself sagely, as she
+watched the face of the visitor, to see how he was impressed by the
+recitals.  Impossible to say!  Ned stared fixedly at his plate, and made
+no remark.  He very seldom looked at Lilias at all, Nan noticed.  If it
+was not too absurd, she would have thought that he really avoided
+looking in her direction, while at every point in the conversation his
+eyes turned towards Maud, as if asking her sympathy in his enjoyment.
+Nan's spirit rose with a bound, and she burst into the conversation once
+more, talking every one down by her high, clear tones.
+
+"Mr Talbot, do you realise that I've growed up since you saw me last?
+I've said good-bye to childish things, and blossomed into a society
+dame.  I'm a lady growed.  Didn't you notice it?"
+
+Ned's eyes gleamed upon her with the deep, kindly glow which Maud knew
+and loved to see.
+
+"I didn't, Nan; I'm sorry.  I thought you looked exactly the same!"
+
+"Never noticed my long skirts, or my done-up hair?"
+
+"No!"  Ned looked surprised, and tilted slightly back in his chair to
+obtain a better view of Nan's head.  It was really rather puzzling to
+decide whether her curly mop was intended to be up or down; and the
+burst of laughter which followed showed how perfectly his uncertainty
+was appreciated.  Nan made a grimace intended to express reckless
+indifference, and waved her bandaged hand in the air.
+
+"Well, it _is_ up!  Don't pay any attention to those silly things.  I
+ought to know best, for I've three separate hair-pins sticking into my
+scalp at the present moment.  Jim took me to my first dance when he was
+at home for Christmas.  It was s-imply lovely!  I was awfully nervous,
+for I generally manage to make an idiot of myself if I get a chance; but
+I got on finely.  I fell down full length as I was entering the room,
+but that was only because the floor was so beautifully polished.  I
+danced every single dance--all waltzes, and the most ex-quisite music.
+I was introduced to an awfully nice man.  He had ears like windmills,
+and the biggest mouth I ever saw; but he could dance!  We went on, and
+on, and on, as long as the music lasted, and never stopped once; and
+when it came to an end I was as red as a lobster.  It was simply
+lovely!"
+
+Elsie smiled in an elderly and forbearing manner.
+
+"More than you were, I expect.  I can just imagine how you looked, with
+your hair all wild, and a crimson face above your white dress.  You
+never think about your appearance, Nan."
+
+"Hope I never may.  I haven't one to think about, and that's a blessing!
+It would be so boring to be pretty, and to have to worry about clothes
+and complexion.  I'm thankful there's none of that nonsense about me,"
+cried Nan, beaming; and every one of the listeners thought how pretty
+she looked at that moment, as she tossed her saucy head and smiled her
+dimpling smile; but they would not for the world have said so, and
+spoilt the charm of her unaffected self-depreciation.  Christabel seized
+the opportunity, and took up the thread of conversation before any one
+else had time to come forward.
+
+"Mr Talbot, I've been waiting to ask you a question.  Do you know
+anybody called Vanburgh?  The Grange is let at last, and the gentleman's
+name is Vanburgh.  We are simply aching to get to know something about
+them.  The furniture has arrived, but nobody is in the house yet, except
+the servants.  We made up our minds that there would be a family of
+daughters, but we begin to have qualms."  Chrissie was obviously pleased
+with the effect of that last expressive word, and repeated it once more
+with artistic relish.  "Qualms, yes!  Decided qualms.  The furniture is
+so massive.  We can't see anything at all that would suit a girl's
+room."
+
+"I can't give you any help on that point, Chrissie.  You can judge
+better than I; but Vanburgh is an uncommon name, so we ought to be able
+to find out something about them.  Do you happen to know where they have
+been living till now?"
+
+"Here, and there, and everywhere; wandering over the face of the globe!
+A great deal of the furniture comes from India and Egypt; and one of the
+workmen came over to ask cook for some hot water one day, and said he
+believed the master had been travelling abroad.  I wanted cook to pump
+him to find out more, but she said mother had forbidden her to gossip
+about the neighbours.  Such a nuisance!  I love gossiping about my
+neighbours.  I remember when I was a little girl, how I used to adore
+being in the drawing-room when callers came and discussed the affairs of
+the village.  I knew I should be sent away if I appeared to listen, so I
+used to sit and pretend to play with a doll or a book, while my ears
+were fairly sticking out of my head with curiosity."
+
+"You little hypocrite!  I wouldn't have believed you could have been so
+deceitful.  But do tell us if you know anything of the Vanburghs, Mr
+Talbot.  Did you ever meet any one of the name?"
+
+"I met a man once--a fellow about my own age.  He was at Oxford with me,
+but not at the same college.  I saw very little of him."
+
+"That could not be the father, of course.  He would have to be a son,
+and we never arranged for boys.  What sort of man was he?"
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"I beg your pardon."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"What does that mean?  What sort of man is supposed to be represented by
+`Humph!' may we ask?"
+
+Silence!  Ned Talbot screwed up his lips and shook his head with
+determined obstinacy.  The girls stared at him in silence for a good two
+minutes.  Then Maud spoke again.
+
+"Do you decline to say anything but `Humph' on the subject, Ned?"
+
+"Absolutely!"
+
+"How very interesting!"  Nan clasped her hands in delight.  "How
+mysterious!  How gloomy!  How frightfully suspicious!  I'm sure there's
+something very dreadful about him, and in that case he will be even more
+interesting than the girls."
+
+"Nan!"
+
+"I can't help it.  We know so many estimable people that it would be
+delightful to meet somebody bloodthirsty, for a change.  Everything in
+Waybourne is so painfully commonplace that we are simply spoiling for a
+mystery, as the Americans would say.  Now, Mr Talbot won't commit
+himself to a definite charge, but his silence is more impressive than
+words.  I'm sure there's a mystery: something too gruesome and terrible
+to be divulged."
+
+"You leap to conclusions, Nan.  Perhaps I had better state at once that
+there is nothing at all mysterious about the man I mentioned--nothing of
+the kind, I assure you."
+
+"Nor bloodthirsty?"
+
+"Nor in the faintest shadow of a degree bloodthirsty."
+
+"Nor thrilling, nor gloomy, nor terrible?"
+
+"The farthest possible remove from such qualities."
+
+Nan groaned with disappointment.
+
+"What a blow!  Another nonentity!  I hope, then, that your Vanburgh has
+nothing to do with ours, for he sounds terribly uninteresting.  Never
+mind; when you come down to see us in the summer, we shall have solved
+the mystery for ourselves; and you will be obliged to come down for our
+sale, you know.  Have you heard anything about our sale?"
+
+"I--er--yes; I heard something,"--began Ned hesitatingly.  He half
+turned his head towards Lilias, and then once more stared down at his
+plate, while she continued for him, in her sweet flute-like voice--
+
+"Oh yes; I told him about it.  He has promised to come and help me when
+I get tired.  I can't manage the punt all alone!"
+
+Once again was noticed the subtle suggestiveness of Lilias's manner; but
+this time it was her pleasure to pose as a martyr--a poor, fragile
+martyr, to whom had been deputed a hard and ungrateful task, while her
+companions played in the sunshine.  Nothing could be said against an
+unspoken accusation, especially in the presence of a stranger; but the
+sisters exchanged meaning glances across the table, and Nan stamped _so_
+violently upon Elsie's foot that that melancholy young person writhed on
+her seat.  The best safeguard to the feelings of the family was to
+change the subject, which Chrissie at once proceeded to do.
+
+"But sha'n't we see you again before midsummer?" she inquired eagerly.
+"Is this really the only visit you are going to pay us this time?  Three
+skimpy hours!  You generally come and stay over a Sunday at least.
+Can't you come again before you go north?  Mother and father will be
+home on Thursday."
+
+Ned Talbot flushed suddenly, and bit his lips under his moustache.  He
+was evidently struggling with a spasm of nervousness; and Maud noticed
+as much, and wondered as to its meaning, even as she blessed Christabel
+in her heart for her welcome suggestion.  Surely, surely Ned would not
+refuse!
+
+"You are very kind," he said slowly.  "I had thought of asking if I
+might come.  I am anxious to talk to Mrs Rendell.  If it would not be
+inconvenient to have me from Saturday till Monday so soon after her
+return, I should very much like to come."  He looked inquiringly at Maud
+as he spoke, and she smiled a happy assent.
+
+"I am quite sure it will be convenient; but I'll tell-mother the moment
+she returns, and she will write to you herself.  You will probably hear
+on Friday."
+
+"Thank you; I hope I may.  This afternoon has been all too short, and I
+have not had time for anything.  Not even a glance of `Kittay.'  It's
+absurd to pretend to have been to Waybourne when one has not seen
+`Kittay'; isn't it, Christabel?"
+
+Chrissie dropped her eyelids, and twisted her lip with an expression of
+supreme disdain.
+
+"I do not say `Kittay'; I say `Kittee.'  You are too sillay.  Whatevah I
+say you mock me in this ridiculous mannah.  I sha'n't speak to you at
+all next time."
+
+Talbot made a gesture as of one heaping ashes on his head, and then,
+glancing at the clock, rose hurriedly from the table.
+
+"I must go!  Just time to catch the train.  I had no idea it was getting
+so late.  That comes of enjoying myself so much.  I have had a jolly
+afternoon.  Don't know when I have had such a good time."  He held out
+his hand to Maud, and she took it, trying hard to smile as brightly as
+himself, but it was a difficult task.  She would rather he had been less
+bright, less complacent.  She could have been happier if he had gone
+away with a shadow of her own depression upon his brow.  Poor Maud! she
+turned back from the door with an aching heart.  The schoolroom seemed
+on a sudden unbearably grey and gloomy.  Her former peace had given
+place to an aching doubt.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+THE VANBURGHS ARRIVE.
+
+The next day, when Kitty arrived at Thurston House, she was informed of
+Ned Talbot's visit, and promptly remarked that it was a "mean shame"--
+the shame consisting in the fact of the visit having been so timed that
+she herself had been deprived of the pleasure of seeing one who was
+honoured by her special approval.  All interest in Ned and his doings
+was soon wiped away, however, by a piece of intelligence so exciting
+that the listeners could only gasp, and hold on to their chairs for
+support.
+
+It was Maud who brought the news to the schoolroom.  She had been in the
+kitchen interviewing the cook, and had received it straight from the
+lips of that authority.
+
+"Children, children!" she cried breathlessly, "the Vanburghs have
+arrived!  They came late last night, cook says.  She saw the table laid
+for breakfast this morning, and the postman said he had taken some
+letters to the house."
+
+"Arrived!"  The girls stared at one another in mingled excitement and
+disgust.  "And we never saw them!  How simply disgusting, when we have
+been sitting staring out of this window for the last three weeks!  Late
+at night!  What sneaks!  Why couldn't they come in the daylight, in a
+decent, honest fashion?  They might be ashamed of themselves!  How many
+are there, and what are they like?"
+
+But Maud knew nothing beyond the mere fact of the arrival, and the
+schoolroom party were obliged to control their curiosity as best they
+might until lessons were over, and they were free to station themselves
+once more in their place of observation.  If the Vanburgh family had
+ventured out of the house about noon, they would have been slightly
+disconcerted to see the row of heads in the window opposite, all craning
+forward to watch their slightest movement, and bobbing behind the
+curtains when they imagined themselves observed.  But, alas! they did
+not come out.  The nailed door remained closely shut, and the
+disappointed watchers tried to console themselves by inventing
+satisfactory reasons for their non-appearance.
+
+"They are busy, you see.  There is so much to unpack.  Gabrielle is
+hanging her ball-dresses in the wardrobe and covering them over with
+muslin curtains."
+
+"She wouldn't unpack for herself, silly!  They have a French maid who
+does all that sort of thing for them!"
+
+"I know they have; but Gabrielle is so particular!  She can't bear any
+one to touch her dresses but herself; besides, Therese has enough to do
+attending to the other young ladies.  Evangeline has a bad sick
+headache.  She is lying down in that room where the curtains are drawn.
+Travelling always does make her ill!"
+
+"Ermyntrude is arranging her treasures.  Her bedroom looks out on the
+garden, and she is nailing up pictures, and draping the mantelpiece.
+She has piles and piles of photographs to arrange.  They will keep her
+busy all day.  It's ridiculous to suppose that they would go out the
+very first morning after their arrival.  You know how it is with us when
+we come home after a few weeks' holiday!  There are a thousand things to
+be done."
+
+The girls unanimously agreed in this decision.  Nevertheless, the hope
+that one of the four Miss Vanburghs might appear at the windows kept
+them glued to their own posts until it was time to start for the daily
+walk.
+
+The conversation turned exclusively on the subject of the new
+neighbours, as the little procession of girls and governess filed
+dejectedly down the street, and great ingenuity was exhibited in
+expressing disappointment in the language which was the order of the
+day.
+
+"C'est un horrible shame," sighed Kitty sadly.  "C'est tout bien pour
+vous, parce que vous etes toujours ici; mais moi, je suis chez moi, et
+si elles sortez quand je ne suis pas ici, je serais _mad_!"
+
+"J'expect qu'elles sorteraient quand nous sommes tous loin.  C'est
+toujours le fashion!" sighed Chrissie, acutely conscious that her French
+was superior to that of her friend, but politely ignoring the fact.  "Je
+demanderai a ma mere--er--er--(how do you say `pay calls'?)--a faire une
+visite, aussitot que possible."
+
+"Moi aussi," assented Kitty.  "Et puis vous savez, elle peut dit:
+`J'espere, Madame Vanburgh, que vos mademoiselles seraient tres grand
+amies avec mes filles.  Voulez vous permittez qu'elles venez a the
+mercredi prochaine?'"
+
+"Oui, et puis elles nous inviteraient en retourn."  Christabel tossed
+her mane over her shoulders and smiled in anticipation.  She made up her
+mind then and there to decorate her bedroom with her most treasured
+nick-nacks on the afternoon of the Vanburghs' visit, and to keep her new
+hair ribbon unused for the occasion.
+
+But no Miss Vanburghs appeared!  The next day passed, and the next, and
+still another, and still no sign of a feminine presence lightened the
+dark windows of the Grange.  The solemn butler flitted to and fro; the
+figure of a white-haired man could be dimly discerned, stretched upon a
+sofa, in the oak-panelled apartment immediately facing the porch-room of
+Thurston House; but that was all that the most unremitting scrutiny
+could discover.  Nan shivered at an attic window for an hour on end,
+with no more exciting result than a glimpse of a tablecloth and a row of
+silver dishes; and the great nailed door remained persistently closed.
+
+And then the blow fell!
+
+There were no Miss Vanburghs!  There was not even a Mrs Vanburgh!
+Could it be believed there was no woman in the family--no one but an old
+invalid gentleman, who spent his days on a sofa, or in a wheeled chair
+being slowly driven about the garden?  A solitary man as tenant of the
+Grange!  The finest house in the neighbourhood monopolised by an
+invalid!  The ball-room, the billiard-room, the music-room, given over
+to the possession of one who would never use them; the stables unused;
+the gardens deserted!  The Rendell girls could not believe it.  It was
+too horrible to be true.  Ermyntrude, Evangeline, and Gabrielle had no
+existence.  The happy dreams which had been woven about them could never
+be fulfilled.  It was indeed a cruel and crushing disappointment.
+
+"What can he want with a house like that, the selfish, horrid creature?"
+demanded Agatha, nigh to tears.  "If he is an invalid, what is the use
+of having a house big enough to hold a regiment of soldiers?  There are
+hundreds of villas where he might have been as ill as he liked, without
+monopolising our only Grange!  What is to become of us, if all the best
+houses in the country are sold to hermits, and invalids, and white-
+haired old patriarchs, with not a single child to boast of!  Selfish!
+Inconsiderate!"
+
+"I'm sorry his back is bad; but he had no business to come here," agreed
+Chrissie firmly.  "We don't want invalids.  We want a nice, big, lively
+family, with plenty of money and hospitable hearts.  Oh dear!  I'm
+lonely without Gabrielle.  I'd taken such a fancy to her!  This is worse
+than if the place had never been sold at all."
+
+"But still, you know the old man may be nice!"  Kitty suggested
+hopefully.  "Wouldn't it be lovely if he took a fancy to us, and made us
+all his heirs?  A million each!  I'd buy a pony-cart and a phonograph--a
+friend of father has a phonograph at his home, and it's such fun
+listening to it.  The cornet-solo is fine, and there's a cylinder of a
+baby crying which sounds just like a dog barking.  The poor little soul
+was quite good, but its parents thought it would be nice to preserve its
+howls; so they pinched it and made it cry.  Mean, I call it!  Imagine
+her feelings when she is grown up, and this wretched thing is wound up
+to amuse strangers.  So degrading!  Parents ought to consider their
+children's feelings.  I read an awful story once of a girl who was
+looking over old magazines with some friends, and she came upon a
+photograph of herself as an advertisement of Infants' Food!  If that had
+happened to me, I should disown my parents and leave the country.  Mr
+Vanburgh hasn't any children of his own, but he may like us all the more
+for that.  It would be an interest in life for him to make us happy, and
+we should reward him by our devotion.  It sounds like a book, and
+perhaps it may turn out for the best, after all.  I believe it will!"
+
+"Don't be so horribly resigned!  I hate people who are resigned when I
+am miserable!" said Chrissie sharply.  "I want some nice girls, and I
+don't care a rap about phonographs--silly, squeaky things!  There was
+one on the parade at the seaside last year, and it irritated me beyond
+words!  Besides, I don't think it's at all nice to make up to a person
+just because he is rich, and might leave you some money.  I wouldn't do
+it.  It's toadying; and if there is one thing I detest above anothah, it
+is--"
+
+"I never said I would `make up' to him.  I never hinted at such a thing.
+We were not supposed to dream that he would leave us anything until he
+was dead, and then we would be overcome with surprise.  I should hope I
+detest toadying as much as you!  Toady, indeed!" and Kitty tossed her
+head and curled her lip in disdain.  Both girls were upset by the sudden
+overthrow of their hopes, and therefore inclined to take offence more
+readily than usual.  Christabel retired to the window in dignified
+displeasure, while Kitty wriggled into the corduroy jacket, stuck the
+Tam O'Shanter on her head at a rakish angle, and hitched her books under
+her arm in preparation to depart.  Agatha's expressive frowns and smiles
+were of no avail towards a reconciliation, and the parting took place in
+forced and chilly manner.
+
+"Good by-ee!"
+
+"Good by-ee!"
+
+Then the door banged, and Kitty went stalking home, to drown her woes in
+afternoon tea, and to have her ruffled feathers smoothed down by her
+mother's kindly sympathy.
+
+Mrs Maitland regarded the disappointment from a personal standpoint,
+for the discovery that there was no Mrs Vanburgh was almost as great a
+blow to her as the absence of daughters had been to the schoolroom
+party.  She agreed with Kitty that it was most officious of a solitary
+male to monopolise the Grange, and bemoaned the loss to the
+neighbourhood in a manner tragic enough to satisfy even her daughter's
+requirements.
+
+"Oh dear! oh dear! and I was looking to her for so many subscriptions!
+I had put her down for two five-pound notes, and half a dozen guineas.
+I meant her to take half my stall at the hospital bazaar, and to be the
+secretary of the Mission.  How useful I had made that woman, to be sure!
+and now she has vanished into thin air before my eyes.  I'm terribly
+disappointed, Kit; but we must make the best of it.  Poor, lonely old
+man!  He will be bored to death in that silent house.  Lies on his back,
+you say, and is wheeled about in a chair?  That means paralysis, I
+suppose, or very bad rheumatism.  It's sad to be old, and ill, and
+lonely."  Mrs Maitland stared thoughtfully before her, cup in hand, and
+her eyes grew suddenly moist.  She was thinking how blessedly well off
+she was in her cheery, sunny little home, with husband and child to love
+her, and good health to enable her to do her work, and to find pleasure
+in the doing; and the picture of the strange old man lying on his couch
+in the dim oak-panelled halls seemed by comparison gloomier than ever.
+
+"We'll help him, Kit!" she said briskly.  "We'll help him, you and I!
+We'll make his life brighter for him, and cheer him in every way we
+know!"
+
+But, as it turned out, Mr Vanburgh was not anxious to be cheered, and
+Mrs Maitland found it more difficult than she expected to put her good
+resolves into practice.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+NED'S MISSION.
+
+On Thursday evening, Mr and Mrs Rendell returned home from their
+Continental trip.  The house was spick and span, the girls were blooming
+in pretty evening dresses, and the travellers themselves looked
+immensely benefited by their holiday, so that the kissings and huggings
+of welcome were exchanged under the happiest conditions.
+
+Nan was thankful to feel that no shade of displeasure lurked behind the
+tenderness of her mother's greeting, and before the evening was over
+actually screwed up courage to put a question concerning the discovery
+of the scattered rice.
+
+The explanation was disappointingly simple.  Mr and Mrs Rendell
+exchanged a smiling glance, and appeared much amused by the girls'
+discomfiture.
+
+"Well, my dear, we had the carriage to ourselves as far as Dover, and
+your mother suggested in her thoughtful way that it would be wise to get
+some wraps ready, as it was often very cold on the pier.  Obedient as
+ever, I unstrapped the bundle, and discovered your nice little plot.  We
+lifted the cushions, poured all the loose rice on the seats, shook the
+cloaks out of the window, put down the cushions again, and had
+everything clear and tidy in ten minutes' time!  It was a nice little
+diversion, which came just as we had finished reading our papers.  Most
+thoughtful of you to provide it for us!"
+
+"And you had no stray pieces left?  None that caught in your clothes,
+and shook out afterwards?"
+
+"I had a cloth brush in my bag, and I used it well.  I am sorry to
+distress you; but we were not once mistaken for Edwin and Angelina.  It
+was a brilliant inspiration on your part, and I sympathise with your
+disappointment.  I said at once, `This is Nan's doing!' and wished I was
+near, to pay you out for your audacity.  I hope your other pranks
+afforded you more satisfaction.  I expect you have been up to all manner
+of mischief while we were away!"
+
+"I've been most industrious, father, and good, and docile.  Ask Maud if
+I haven't.  I had a few accidents: they _will_ occur, you know!  Trays,
+for instance, jumping out of my hand, and smashing the glass.  It's a
+mercy I was not killed."
+
+"Glass?  What glass?" queried Mrs Rendell quickly; and Nan smiled back
+at her with infantile candour.
+
+"Better tell her the first evening, when she can't find it in her heart
+to be cross," she had decided diplomatically; and there was certainly no
+nervousness apparent in the manner in which she made her confession.
+
+"Oh, only some tumblers.  Not so many.  Seven or eight, perhaps.  They
+were not the best ones; none of the best set were broken except two
+little water-bottles.  Such a mercy, wasn't it?"  She affected not to
+hear Mrs Rendell's groan of dismay, and spread out her scarred hands
+with an air of thanksgiving.  "As for me, I can't imagine how I escaped.
+There were knives on the tray, and they fell in showers round me--
+literal showers--and dug into my hands!  The blood--oh-oh!"  Nan rolled
+her eyes to the ceiling, and shuddered dramatically.  "Ask Maud!  She
+wanted me to go to bed, but I struggled on.  We were particularly busy
+that night, and wanted to help the servants."
+
+"Ned Talbot was here.  He appeared suddenly, when we were laying
+carpets, and went down on his knees to help us.  He seemed to expect to
+stay to dinner, so we gave him a scramble meal, and he left by the 8:30
+train," explained Maud hurriedly.  She, like Nan, had decided to give
+her own special piece of news on the evening of her parents' return; but
+though she appeared to be looking in an opposite direction, she was
+acutely conscious of her mother's searching glances.
+
+"In-deed!"  Mrs Rendell said slowly.  "He is staying in town, then, I
+suppose?  Is he to make a long visit?  Shall we see him again this
+time?"
+
+"He said of his own accord, mother, that he would like to come from
+Saturday until Monday if it would not inconvenience you so soon after
+your return.  I promised to give you the message, and said you would
+probably write yourself."
+
+"He said he wanted particularly to speak to you and father.  I wonder
+what about!  He doesn't generally care to be with you as much as with
+us; but he said it as if he meant it--he really did.  I can't imagine
+what he wants!" said Agatha the tactless, blurting out her thoughts as
+usual, and beaming round the company, unconscious of the consternation
+which her words had caused.
+
+Maud flushed crimson.  Elsie and Nan blushed in sympathy for her
+confusion, and Chrissie from sheer rage and irritation, and longing to
+take the big, blind blunderer by the shoulder and administer a good
+shaking.  Only Lilias remained cool and self-possessed, and came to the
+rescue with a change of subject, for which her sisters blessed her in
+their hearts.
+
+No further reference was made to Ned Talbot that evening, nor was any
+letter forwarded to his London address; but next day, as Maud passed the
+morning-room on some domestic errand, a voice called her by name, and
+she entered, to find her mother seated before an open desk.
+
+"I am writing to Ned Talbot," she said, "and I wanted to consult you
+before finishing.  I think the time has come for plain speaking, Maud.
+Am I to tell this young fellow that we shall be pleased to see him or
+no?  It has been easy to see that he has had a special attraction in
+this house for some years past; and now that his position is
+established, he may have made up his mind to state his wishes.  I have
+little doubt what they will be, nor, I think, have you, so it lies with
+you to decide the question."
+
+Maud laid down her bundle, and grasped the sides of the table to steady
+her trembling hands.
+
+"Mother, I don't know--I'm not certain!  I have only thought at times
+that perhaps--perhaps he cared--"
+
+"Of course, dear.  I understand that.  He could not show his feelings
+too plainly while he was unprepared to speak.  That is all right, I'm
+sure.  What you have to consider is your own attitude.  If you do not
+care for him, or do not wish to be hurried into a decision, we will
+postpone this visit until a future occasion.  He himself doubted whether
+I could receive him so soon after our return, so that I can easily make
+an excuse.  On the other hand, Maud, if you would like to see him--"
+
+She paused significantly, and looked full into Maud's eyes.  For a long
+silent minute that gaze continued, the mother sitting with raised head,
+the girl standing before her, flushed and shy, yet showing no sign of
+shrinking before her scrutiny.
+
+"Yes, mother, I would.  I'd rather you let him come!"
+
+A quiver passed over Mrs Rendell's face, and her eyes dropped.  No
+mother in the world can hear that her daughter's heart has gone beyond
+her keeping, without feeling a pang of pain mingling with the joy; and
+this was a peculiarly tender mother, despite her little airs of
+severity.  There were a few minutes when she dared not trust herself to
+speak, then she held out her hand and drew the girl to her side.
+
+"Bless you, my daughter!  My good girl--my dear, kind helper.  I'll miss
+you sorely; but I am glad of anything that makes for your happiness, now
+and always.  You know that, don't you, darling?"
+
+Maud put down her head and shed a few tears of happiness and excitement,
+which had in them no trace of bitterness.  When the time arrived for
+leaving home, that would doubtless be a real trouble; but at present she
+could not realise the wrench, while her mother's certainty concerning
+Ned's love was the best medicine possible for the doubts which had been
+so distressing since the occasion of his last visit.  In ten minutes'
+time she returned to her work, with no stain of tear-marks to tell of
+her recent emotion, but with a quiet illumination in her face which
+satisfied the mother that this attachment to Ned Talbot was no mere
+girlish fancy, but the deep faithful love which endures for a lifetime.
+
+The important letter was posted, and the invitation which it contained
+accepted by telegram within an hour of its arrival, and half Friday
+night Maud lay with wide, bright eyes staring through the darkness, too
+excited, too happy, to sleep.
+
+Ned arrived on Saturday afternoon.  It was a glorious spring day, the
+sun shining so powerfully that for the first time in the year afternoon
+tea was carried out to the summer-house, while the family gathered
+around on various garden stools and chairs.  They were hardly seated
+when Ned came walking across the lawn, a tall, handsome figure, in a
+spring-like suit, his dark face lit up with a smile of pleasure.  Maud
+looked at him, aglow with love and pride; but as he drew nearer she
+busied herself with the teacups, and had only a casual word of welcome
+to offer.  It would not do to appear too glad, she told herself; and
+when there were so many, an individual greeting was hardly noticed, nor
+was there any opportunity for _tete-a-tete_ conversation.
+
+When the tea-things had been carried away, however, and the girls began
+to wander about the garden in twos and threes, Maud found Ned by her
+side, waiting for her, and allowing the others to walk on ahead.  She
+looked up with a questioning glance, and met a smile of frank affection.
+
+"Well, have you finished your duties, and got five minutes' leisure for
+once?  Come along, and have a walk with me.  I never met such a girl for
+being busy all day long.  Don't think I have ever seen you sitting with
+idle hands.  You remember Jim's old nickname, `Maud of all work'?  A
+capital title!  But he would have missed it badly if he had not had you
+to wait upon him.  I used to tell him I envied him such a sister!"
+
+Maud smiled vaguely and turned her head aside.  It was all very kind,
+very flattering, very friendly, yet somehow it failed to satisfy; and
+even as she listened the old ache of uncertainty came back to her heart.
+It was difficult to say why, unless perhaps it was that Ned's manner
+was a little too friendly to be welcome.  In the old days he had not
+been so much at his ease; they had talked merrily enough together while
+the others were present, but so soon as they had been left alone a
+constraint had been wont to fall upon them,--a silence, awkward,
+embarrassing, yet in some inexplicable way more eloquent than words.
+Maud thought of the past with a quick catching of breath, and through
+the whole of that afternoon and evening the vague depression deepened,
+and refused to be argued away.  Ned, it was true, took advantage of
+every opportunity of being near her, yet the time had been when he had
+seemed shy of approaching; and she preferred the shyness to this open
+friendliness.  He talked to her more than to any one of her sisters,
+yes! in frank, cheery words with unlowered voice, as a brother might
+talk to a sister, or a son to his mother.  He looked at her with kindly
+affection, and the look chilled her heart.  Once again Maud passed a
+sleepless night, but the darkness was no longer illumined by rosy
+dreams, but black with fear and dread.
+
+Sunday was a glorious day, and Maud felt it another drop in her cup to
+be obliged to wear winter clothes instead of blossoming out in the
+pretty spring costume which she had hoped to possess.  The dressmaker
+had proved faithless, like the rest of her kind, and, being unable to
+finish two dresses by the promised time, had followed her usual custom
+and sent home the one destined for the younger sister; for, in spite of
+her gentle manners, Lilias had "a way with her" which carried infinitely
+more weight than Maud's good-natured placidity.
+
+The sisters were standing in the hall providing themselves with hymn-
+books from the pile laid out on the top of the oak bench, when Lilias
+came tripping downstairs in her pale grey draperies, a very incarnation
+of the beautiful spring morning.  Maud looked at her with ungrudging
+admiration, then turned instinctively to see how Ned in his turn was
+affected by the charming vision.  She saw him flash one quick glance at
+Lilias, and immediately turn on his heel and walk to the other end of
+the hall, and throughout the walk to church she puzzled over the meaning
+of such behaviour.  Why should the sight of Lilias in her fresh beauty
+disturb Ned's equanimity?  Was it possible he had taken a dislike to
+her, or felt a masculine disdain for her innocent vanity?  Maud honestly
+hoped not; for, though she desired above all things to possess Ned's
+love for herself, it would be still necessary for her happiness that he
+should accept as his own her five beloved sisters.
+
+The day passed without any important developments.  Maud went off to
+teach her Sunday-school class in the afternoon, trying hard to conquer
+the spasm of envy which overcame her at the sight of Lilias seated in
+the garden hammock, swinging herself to and fro on the tips of her
+little shoes, while Ned mounted guard by her side, and Agatha and
+Chrissie paced lazily up and down.  Maud was devoted to her "boys," but
+on this occasion there was no denying that it was an effort to tear
+herself from home, and she would gladly have welcomed a holiday.  Her
+path led through the garden, and as she approached the gate the hope
+flitted through her mind that Ned might offer to accompany her on her
+walk.  It would be an opportunity for a quiet _tete-a-tete_, which was
+rarely to be gained in the midst of such a large family; and if Mrs
+Rendell's surmises were correct, surely--surely!  But Ned did not even
+rise from his seat beside the hammock: he only waved his hand and nodded
+an unclouded farewell.  The twelve mischievous little boys behaved with
+unprecedented decorum that afternoon; for, in spite of their elfish
+ways, they were devoted to Maud, and the ringleader sent round an
+imperative message to the effect that "Teacher was bad, and must not be
+worried."
+
+It was characteristic of Maud also that she did not allow the lesson to
+suffer because of her own depression, but rather put into it more than
+the usual earnestness.  She had always felt a heavy sense of
+responsibility in taking this class, and every week, as she looked at
+the eager young faces, she was thrilled with a fresh longing to help
+them to grow up into strong, upright men, who would be a power for good
+in the world,--"gentlemen of Christ," as the grand old phrase has it.
+When they were indifferent or callous, after the manner of boys, she
+strengthened herself against disappointment by remembering how words
+committed to memory in her own careless youth remained indelibly printed
+on the brain, to be a strength and solace in after years.  The hymns and
+chapters were learnt as lessons now, but in time to come their true
+meaning would be revealed; and she loved to combat the suspicion that
+the Bible was a dull, uninteresting book, by relating the histories of
+its heroes in a manner most calculated to arouse schoolboy enthusiasm.
+Brave, lovable David, with his chosen friend Jonathan, the type of
+princehood; the gloomy but majestic figure of Saul, trustful Abraham,
+and fearless Daniel.  It was a joy to make them live in the boys'
+imagination, and see the bright interest on the listening faces!
+
+When Mrs Rendell said good-night to her daughter, she was especially
+tender in her manner, for she vaguely felt that all was not going well,
+and took herself to task for having forced a confidence.  Could it be be
+that she had taken too much for granted? that her motherly pride had
+given her an exaggerated idea of Ned Talbot's feelings?  He had shown no
+anxiety to speak to her in private, and at one time it seemed as if he
+would go back to town without touching on any but impersonal topics; but
+on Monday morning, after wandering restlessly about the house for some
+time after breakfast, Ned seemed suddenly to take his courage in both
+hands, and, coming up to his hostess as she sat writing notes, begged
+the favour of a few minutes' private conversation.
+
+Mrs Rendell looked up sharply, met an embarrassed yet steadfast glance,
+and felt a throb of relief.
+
+"Certainly!" she said.  "In ten minutes from now I shall have finished
+my household arrangements, and will meet you in the summer-house.  Go
+into the garden and enjoy a smoke until I come."
+
+Ned walked away obediently, and Mrs Rendell thrust the half-finished
+note under her desk, too agitated to complete it.  She had shown no
+signs of surprise to the young man himself, but her heart was beating
+quickly, and she bundled away her writing materials in a haphazard
+fashion very unlike her usual methodical ways.  Her first thought was
+for Maud, and most of the ten minutes of Ned's waiting were taken up in
+interviewing the girl, and deputing to her a dozen little shopping
+commissions which would keep her occupied in the village for an hour to
+come.
+
+"I am going to have a talk with Ned in the summer-house.  You will find
+us there when you return.  Come straight to me, and tell me how you have
+succeeded."
+
+These were her last instructions, and when she had given them she turned
+sharply aside, lest her face should betray the meaning that lay behind
+her words.
+
+Ned was waiting for her with an evident nervousness mingling with his
+usual kindly courtesy.  He made no attempt to open the conversation with
+meaningless commonplaces, and, after they were both seated, several
+moments passed in silence.  Then suddenly the two pairs of eyes met; the
+young fellow flushed and paled, and laid a hand on his hostess's chair
+with a boy-like pleading gesture.
+
+"Oh, Mrs Rendell," he cried, "I have a great favour to ask you!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+A TRAGIC SURPRISE.
+
+Half an hour later, Nan Rendell let herself out of the front door, and
+ran hurriedly down the steps.  Her sailor hat was perched uncertainly on
+the top of her heavy braids, the buttons of her jacket were unfastened,
+and she drew on her gloves as she walked, as if she had been in too much
+haste to finish dressing before leaving the house.  Several
+acquaintances saluted her as they passed, but she rushed along
+unconscious of their greetings, and presently arrived at the point in
+the high road where houses stopped and the little township began.  The
+shops which Mrs Rendell patronised were indiscriminately situated on
+either side of the road, which no doubt accounted for Nan's erratic
+dives to and fro.  She peered her head round the corner of the draper's
+door, dashed across the road and craned through the grocer's window,
+stood on tip-toe to investigate the interior of the post office, then
+ran back once more, to interview the fishmonger, and ask if Miss Rendell
+had yet called to leave the morning order.  It was in the confectioner's
+that Maud was run to earth at last.  She was coming out of the doorway
+counting her change into her purse, when suddenly Nan's face confronted
+her, and she started back in surprise.
+
+"You?"
+
+"Yes, it's me.  I've been looking for you everywhere."
+
+"But I thought your were going to work?  I left you hard at it.  Got a
+headache?"
+
+"Fer-ightful!" said Nan; and her looks justified the word, for her
+cheeks were pale, and her eyes looked worn and strained.  "I couldn't
+work any longer.  I thought a little walk would do me good, so came out
+to meet you."
+
+"But--er,"--Maud hesitated uncertainly.  She did not wish to appear
+inconsiderate towards her beloved Nan, but, remembering her mother's
+instruction, she could not bring herself to stay away from home longer
+than was necessary.  She looked at her sister appealingly, and slid a
+hand through her arm.
+
+"But--I've finished my shopping, dear, and mother said I was to go
+straight back.  Wouldn't it do just as well to sit in the garden?  You
+would get the air without fatigue, and I'd make you so cosy in the deck
+chair.  You know, Nan, I--I want to go back!"
+
+Nan turned her head aside, and spoke in a queer, muffled tone.
+
+"Very well; but we'll go round the back way.  It's only five minutes
+longer, and it's quiet.  I don't want to meet any one.  You'll do that
+to oblige me, won't you, Maud, as you have finished your shopping?"
+
+Of course she would.  Maud gave a little grip to her sister's arm, and
+turned willingly enough up the side street which led off the high road.
+As in all small towns, the change from town to country came surprisingly
+quickly.  Three minutes' walk took the sisters into a pretty lane
+running parallel with the High Street, and commanding a sweeping view
+over the countryside.  Here were no houses, only an avenue of beeches,
+with here and there a seat in a position of welcome shade.  Maud often
+returned home by this quieter route, and seated herself on one of the
+benches to make up her accounts and enjoy the view at one and the same
+time.  It was a favourite spot; but after this morning she could never
+pass it without a shrinking of the heart, a sickly remembrance of
+misery.  At the first seat Nan slackened her pace insinuatingly, while
+Maud marched ahead, intentionally obtuse; but at the second a hand was
+laid on her arm, and such a trembling voice besought her to stop, that
+she forgot herself in sympathetic alarm.
+
+"Nan, you _do_ look ill!  As white as a sheet.  Lean forward and put
+your head on your knee, as low as you can get it!  That is the best
+thing to do if you feel faint.  Sit still for a minute, and then we will
+make another dash for home.  You ought to lie down!"
+
+But Nan sat bolt upright, clasping her fingers in nervous misery.
+
+"I'm not faint.  I'm thinking of you, not myself!--Maud darling; it's
+been a mistake--we were all mistaken; but you are so good, you will be
+brave for our sakes, if not your own.  It would break our hearts to see
+you suffer."
+
+She stopped short with a little sob of agitation, and Maud stared at her
+with wondering eyes.
+
+"Suffer!  I?  Why should I suffer?"  Then the colour rushed in a sudden
+wave to her cheeks, and her voice broke in the single, stifled inquiry,
+"Ned?"
+
+"Yes.  It is Lilias!  He has asked mother for Lilias.  She came upstairs
+and sent me out to meet you, so that you might not hear it suddenly.
+She thought you would rather have it so."
+
+"How kind of her!  That was good of you both!" said Maud calmly.  Her
+heart had stopped for a moment, and was now beating away at
+extraordinary speed; a singing noise was in her ears: it was as if some
+one had dealt her a violent blow, and she was as yet too stunned to
+realise its nature.  She turned her head aside, and _gazed_ vaguely up
+and down.  A nursemaid wheeled a perambulator on the opposite pavement,
+while a little white-robed figure trotted at her side, tossing a ball in
+the air.  Maud watched her movements with fascinated gaze.  It seemed as
+though some tremendous issue depended on whether the ball was caught in
+those tiny, uncertain fingers.
+
+"Ned wants to marry Lilias, does he?"  Her voice sounded strange and far
+away, and she noted as much, and pondered on the peculiarity.  "They
+will make a handsome couple.  Lilias is so fair.  She will look well
+beside him."
+
+"Maud, don't!  For pity's sake don't take it like that!"
+
+The tears were raining down Nan's cheeks, and she seized her sister's
+hand in a passionate grasp.
+
+"I know all about it.  I am almost as wretched as you are.  Don't
+pretend to me.  Say what you feel to me, at least, and it will help you
+to bear it."
+
+"But I don't feel anything," said Maud dully.  "It seems like a dream.
+Lilias!  He loves Lilias, and not me; he never loved me at all!  He has
+been thinking of Lilias all this time.  It's--very--strange!  I think
+what I feel most is shame for my own conceit.  I have been deceiving
+myself all along, and that is a miserable thought!  You should not
+sympathise with me, Nan: you should scold me, and tell me to be ashamed
+of myself."
+
+She spoke in the same dull, strangled note, and Nan continued to cry and
+clasp her hand in distress.
+
+"I could never do that, or be anything but proud of you, darling!  It
+was no conceit at all on your part, for we all thought the same.  He
+always seemed to prefer being with you, and to be so shy and constrained
+with Lilias.  I suppose that was a sign, but we did not recognise it.
+Even mother was sure it was you: every one was, except Lilias."
+
+Maud gave a quick glance upward.
+
+"Did Lilias guess?  Did she know that this was coming?"
+
+"I have not seen her; but from what mother said, I imagine she did."
+
+"And she will--she cares for him too?"
+
+"Yes!"
+
+It was a very low little yes, almost a whisper, but at the sound of it
+Maud shrank as at a blow, and her face became drawn with pain.  For the
+first time a realisation of what the news meant, broke upon her, and she
+cried aloud in a voice sharp with misery--
+
+"They will be engaged; they will be married; and I shall have to stay at
+home and look on!  I shall have to take part, and pretend that I don't
+care.  Oh, I can't--I can't do it!  If it had been some one at a
+distance, some one I need never have seen, I could have borne it; but my
+own sister, living in the same house together all day long--that is too
+bitter!  I'd rather die than face it!"
+
+"Then I'll die too!" cried Nan hotly.  "Whether Ned cares for you or
+not, you are all the world to me.  You don't know how I love you, Maud!
+It would have broken my heart if you had married and gone away, and I
+never want to marry myself, if you and I can live together.  No man
+could make up for you.  I hate them all!  Wretches!  Nothing but misery
+wherever they come.  I'll never fall in love, and you'll get over this
+in a few months, and we will look forward to having our own little
+house, and growing old together,--won't we, darling?"
+
+"Yes, we will," assented Maud meekly.  She looked at her sister and
+tried hard to smile; but the prospect seemed so dull--oh, so heart-
+breakingly dull!--after the rosy dreams of the past, that what was meant
+as comfort proved, after all, the last strain which was to break down
+her composure.
+
+She threw up her hands to her face, and rocked to and fro in an
+abandonment of distress.
+
+"Oh--oh, the days, and weeks, and months!  They will be so long; I can't
+realise it yet, but I know how I shall suffer.  Oh, Nan, isn't it hard,
+after being so happy--after feeling so sure?  I never had a doubt all
+these years except just this last week, and then I thought it was my own
+foolish imagining;--and now to have it end like this!  I can't believe
+it!  Are you sure, are you quite sure?  It seems like a hideous
+mistake!"
+
+Nan shook her head, and her face hardened.
+
+"There's no mistake on my part, but there's one on his, and a big one
+too.  He'll find it out, that's one comfort!  He'll suffer for it!  If
+he thinks Lilias is going to be the sort of wife he needs, he'll find
+out his mistake.  He thinks himself well off because he has a few
+hundreds a year, and is as proud as a king because he has a house of his
+own in a dull little country town.  Lilias's ideas of poverty and his of
+wealth will come to much the same thing.  She hates the country, and
+flies off to town at the least excuse.  Ned is quiet and book-wormy; and
+she wants some one who is fond of life, and likes gadding about.  They
+don't suit each other in any one way that I can see, and before a year
+is over they will have found it out for themselves.  Then he will be
+sorry!"
+
+Maud cut her short with uplifted hand.
+
+"Don't, Nan; you make it worse!  You mean to be kind, but it doesn't
+comfort me to think that he will be disappointed.  I love him, you see;
+and I can't change in a moment because I discover that he doesn't care
+for me.  I want him to be happy.  It would make me more miserable than
+ever if I thought it was a mistake.  You are too hard on Lilias.  She is
+very sweet and amiable, and if she really loves him she will not mind
+little things like that.  We never spoke about him together, she and I,
+and she has only done what I did myself.  No one is to blame--no one!
+It was my own foolish mistake, and I must bear the consequences."
+
+"You are an angel, and too good to live!" cried Nan, with a gulp.  "I
+blame everybody, and myself worst of all.  Prided myself on being sharp-
+sighted, and couldn't save you from a blow like this! ...  Maud, you
+don't want to go home?  You would rather not see him this morning?
+Mother said she would give no definite answer before talking to father,
+but would let him see Lilias for half an hour, and then pack him off by
+the midday train.  She was going to tell him that under the
+circumstances she would prefer that he did not stay to lunch, so there
+would seem nothing strange about it if you and I were not back before he
+left."
+
+"No," agreed Maud softly.  She drew her watch from her belt and looked
+at the hour.  "Perhaps you are right, Nan.  It would be better not to
+try my strength too much this morning.  In a day or two I shall have
+gained a little courage, but this morning I--I've had rather a shock,
+and feel weak and nervous.  We will sit here and wait until he is gone."
+
+"Wouldn't you rather come for a walk?  The time seems so long when you
+are sitting still.  A nice brisk walk through the woods!" suggested Nan
+insinuatingly; but Maud drew back with a quiver of pain.
+
+"No, no!  Not this morning!  I should remember it always.  Every step of
+the path would bring back this wretched day in the future, and I do so
+love the woods.  Let me keep them free from association, at least.  It
+will be bad enough to dread this road, as I always shall after this."
+
+"Just as you like, dear, just as you like; but what will you do?  You
+can't sit still and think all the time!"
+
+"I'll make up my accounts," said Maud simply; and, despite her sister's
+cry of protest, she insisted on doing as she said.  Pencil and note-book
+came out of her pocket, and one item after another of the morning's
+shopping was jotted down, and the result compared with the change in the
+housekeeping purse.
+
+How could she do it?  Nan tried to imagine how she herself would have
+acted in similar circumstances, and felt her heart beat fast at the
+possibility.  Rage, storm, despair; drown herself in the nearest stream;
+lie down beneath the express train; bid farewell to the world, and
+retire into a nunnery.  All these alternatives seemed natural and easy;
+she could imagine taking refuge in any one of them.  But to go on with
+ordinary, everyday work, to take up the "next duty" and perform it in
+quiet, conscientious fashion--that was impossible!--the last thing in
+the world that she could bring herself to do.
+
+She did not realise that the bent of a lifetime is not reversed in a
+moment, and that even the pangs of slighted love must be borne according
+to the temperament of the sufferer.  Dear, placid, domesticated Maud
+found her best medicine in the "trivial round, the common task."
+
+Nan, looking over her shoulder, saw that the little rows of figures were
+as neat and accurate as ever, and caught a sigh of satisfaction when
+they were added together, and the change in the housekeeping purse was
+proved correct.  Even in the midst of her distress, Maud was conscious
+of a distinct sense of satisfaction in balancing her accounts to a
+penny.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+THE FIRST ENGAGEMENT.
+
+The remaining hours of that day were the most painful which Maud had
+ever known.  The sisters returned to find the household in a state of
+wild excitement, for such secrets seemed to leak out in the air, so that
+the very servants suspected the truth, and walked about the house with
+curious smiles.  The housemaid confided to the cook that the missis had
+come in from the garden all of a tremble; had replied, "Yes!  No!
+Certainly!" when asked for instructions, and had then sent Miss Lilias
+to see Mr Talbot in the drawing-room all by her very own self.  What
+did that mean, she would like to know?  And cook shook her head, and
+said it wasn't for nothing she had fallen up the cellar stairs the week
+before; and a very good thing too, if one of them did go off!  When
+there were six of them waiting for their turns, the elders ought to
+hurry up and make room.  Mary, the waitress, shed tears over her silver
+in the pantry, because there was a look about the back of Mr Talbot's
+head that reminded her of her young man, who had gone abroad to prepare
+a home; and all three flattened their noses against the window when Ned
+departed, in the hope of witnessing a tender and affecting farewell.
+They were disappointed, however, for Lilias did not leave the drawing-
+room, and only Mrs Rendell accompanied the young man to the door.  She
+had put on her bonnet, and followed him slowly down the road, for
+ordinary duties must be attended to, even on the exciting occasion of
+the first engagement in the family, and on this particular morning there
+happened to be a committee meeting at the vicarage, which she felt bound
+to attend.
+
+When Maud returned, therefore, only her sisters were at home to receive
+her, and she had barely entered the house before Agatha rushed forward,
+flushed and beaming, and drew her forcibly into the drawing-room.
+
+"Maud, Maud, such news!  Such excitement!  Have you heard?  Did Nan tell
+you?  Isn't it lovely?  The first engagement!  Oh, how I have longed to
+have a wedding in the family, and now it's really coming off!  It's too
+good to be true!  Ned Talbot, too!  Such a scrumptious brother!  I
+always hoped he'd ask one of us, but I thought it was you.  Funny,
+wasn't it?  I said to Chrissie--"
+
+"It was very bold and interfering of you to say anything of the sort,
+then; what business have you meddling with other people's love affairs?"
+interrupted Elsie sharply; and Maud glanced at her, and turned away
+quickly to avoid a look of sympathetic understanding.  Elsie was old
+beyond her years, and had been quick to understand the true position of
+affairs; but Maud hardly knew which was more painful--Agatha's tactless
+speeches, or the other's undisguised commiseration.  It was a relief to
+turn to Lilias and meet her lovely eyes, guilelessly free from any
+feeling but her own happiness.  Lilias had little natural insight, and
+was, besides, so wrapped up in her own interests, that she was as blind
+as a bat to what was passing around.  She came forward, smiling and
+blushing, and Maud kissed her, as was expected, and murmured words of
+congratulation, feeling meantime that this very unconsciousness would be
+her greatest assistance in the difficult time to come.
+
+"I've heard all about it, Lilias.  I hope you will be very happy.  It is
+really all settled, and you are engaged?"
+
+"Yes--no!  Not formally, I mean.  Mother won't consent to anything
+definite until she has consulted with father; but, of course, we,"--
+Lilias dimpled and smiled seraphically over the unaccustomed word--"we
+feel that it is settled.  We are quite sure of ourselves, at least."
+
+"Then I'd get married as soon as you could if I were you, in case you
+changed," said Agatha darkly.  "You do change most awfully, Lilias, you
+know.  When you bought your last hat you said it was a `simple love,'
+and the next month you pulled it all to pieces.  And you used to adore
+Fanny Newby, and now you go out of the side door when you see her
+coming.  Get married in summer and have a rose wedding, and we'll all be
+bridesmaids.  I pine to be a bridesmaid, with everything new from head
+to foot, and no nasty old clothes to wear out.  That's the worst of
+being number five!  I never have everything new at once.  There's always
+a hat, or a jacket, or a blouse that has to be finished off.  Let's sit
+down and talk about it now!  There's half an hour before lunch, and it's
+impossible to do any work.  Maud, sit down and take off your hat, and
+let's be comfy!"
+
+"No, she can't.  I want her!  I don't care who is going to be married;
+I'm ill, and I want Maud to nurse me.  My head is smashing.  I believe
+it's sunstroke, for I sat out yesterday without a hat.  I shall go crazy
+in a moment if somebody doesn't do something!" cried Nan loudly; and her
+sisters stared in dismay at her flushed, heated face.  It was so evident
+that she was in pain that even Agatha submitted to a postponement of the
+longed-for "talk," and the conclave broke up for the time being, the
+sisters separating, to go off in various directions: Lilias to be petted
+and cross-questioned by the two schoolgirls; Elsie to indite a
+melancholy entry in her diary, beginning, "Yet another example of the
+strange intermingling of joy and pain": and Maud to lead Nan to her own
+room, and devote herself to the work of nursing, at which she was so
+clever.  Perhaps Nan's head was really aching, perhaps the morning's
+excitement had brought on an attack of neuralgia, but whatever her
+ailment, she certainly made the worst of it, groaning and rolling her
+eyes to the ceiling as one in mortal agony; for she was wise enough to
+realise that nothing would take Maud so much out of herself as the
+necessity of waiting upon another.
+
+When Mrs Rendell entered the room, and recognised the odours of eau-de-
+Cologne, menthol, and sal volatile, her first thought was of poor
+brokenhearted Maud; but, behold! it was Maud who was playing doctor, and
+buxom Nan who lay prone upon the bed.
+
+A few inquiries and expressions of sympathy were spoken, and then a
+gesture bade Maud follow into another room.  She went, shrinking from
+the ordeal, yet longing to have it over, and for a few minutes mother
+and daughter gazed at one another in silence.  The girl's face was grave
+and set, but self-composed in comparison with that of Mrs Rendell,
+which was quivering with distress.
+
+"My dear child!  What can I say to you?  I can never forgive myself for
+my part in this disappointment.  I should not have spoken as I did the
+other day, but I thought at the time that it was the right thing to do,
+and I had no doubts on the subject.  What can I do to help you, dear,
+through this difficult time?"
+
+"Speak as little as possible about it, mother, please," said Maud
+softly.  She pressed her lips together, wincing with pain, and Mrs
+Rendell's eyes flashed a look of approval in reply.
+
+Of Spartan bravery herself, it delighted her to see her daughter bracing
+herself up to bear her trouble without useless outcry and repining.
+
+"I quite agree, darling," she said warmly.  "After to-day we will never
+mention the subject; but there are one or two things which must be said
+first.  To begin with, Ned has no suspicion of our mistake.  I took care
+of that; and it may help you to know that, after all, we were not so
+very far from the truth.  He spoke quite openly, and it seems that for
+the first two or three years you were the attraction!  He said he had
+been sincerely attached to you, but that he saw you regarded him simply
+as a friend.  Then Lilias came home, with her more demonstrative ways;
+he turned to her for comfort, and now,"--She stopped with a little
+eloquent gesture, while Maud gave a groan of pain.
+
+"Oh, mother, that is hard--to think that it came so near, and that I
+spoiled my life by my own mistake!  I suppose my very anxiety not to
+show how much I cared made me seem stiff and constrained; but I never
+meant him to take it in that way.  It makes it worse than ever, and yet
+I'm glad too.  It's a comfort to feel it was not all imagination."
+
+"I thought you would feel it so; that is why I told you.  But you must
+not talk of your life being spoiled, dear.  These are early days, and I
+hope there are many, many blessings which still remain open to you.  It
+is a great mistake to think that marriage is the only gate to happiness.
+A single woman may have a most full and useful life."
+
+"Yes, mother!" assented Maud dutifully.  Poor Maud! her heart died down
+within her as she spoke, and her thoughts flew away to old Mary Robins
+in her lodging, and Miss Evans in her stuffy little cottage, and she
+wondered if it were really, really possible that she--Maud Rendell--
+could ever grow like them, and feel satisfied with the duties and
+pleasures which constituted their lives!  "Full and useful!"  It sounded
+estimable enough; but her young heart hungered for happiness also, and
+at the moment that seemed lost for ever.  The downcast face was so
+pitiful that the tears came into Mrs Rendell's eyes as she watched it.
+
+"Don't think of the future, dear," she said fondly.  "Take each day as
+it comes, and try to bear it bravely, and I'll help you in every way I
+can.  Ned will come down pretty often, for I must consider Lilias as
+well as you, and we cannot consent to have a formal engagement until
+they know each other more intimately than at present; but it will not be
+so hard as you expect.  You must be at home sometimes, for the last
+thing we want to do is to arouse suspicion; but I will arrange that you
+have as many changes as possible; and in any way that I can help I am at
+your service, dear, if you will only let me know!"
+
+"Thank you, mother," said Maud again, and made a little involuntary
+movement towards the door, whereupon Mrs Rendell dismissed her, after a
+lingering embrace.  She saw that it was misery to the girl to discuss
+her disappointment, and realised that it would be the truest kindness to
+allow the subject to drop.  It was only natural that Maud should find it
+easier to talk to a friend of her own age, and Nan would be able to help
+more than any one else in these first painful days.  Later on her own
+turn would come; and all day long the mother's mind was busy weaving
+plans by which Maud could be shielded from suffering, and her life made
+bright and interesting during the months ahead.
+
+Lessons came off badly that afternoon, for the girls were too much
+absorbed in the excitement of the prospective wedding to be able to fix
+their attention on the problems of arithmetic and geography.  When the
+great problem of the hour was to decide the number of bridesmaids and
+what kind of frocks they should wear, how could they be expected to feel
+any interest in discovering how many yards of paper it would take to
+cover the walls of a problematical chamber, or in describing the
+eccentricities of the Gulf Stream?  Miss Roberts realised the
+impossibility of the situation, and shortened the hours in considerate
+fashion; and no sooner had she taken her departure than the three girls
+rushed to the porch-room, surrounded Lilias in a whirlwind of
+excitement, and dragged her to a chair in their midst.
+
+"At last we can talk!  Such a pity Nan is ill, and won't let Maud leave
+the room; but we can have it all over again with them to-morrow.  Talk!
+I feel as if I could talk for ever!  Oh, Lilias, how do you feel?  If I
+were engaged, I don't know what would happen to me!  I should go stark,
+staring mad with excitement."
+
+"How nice for him!  You would have another person to consider then,
+remember," said Lilias prettily.  "I am not at all inclined to go mad,
+though I am certainly very much excited.  It is difficult to describe my
+feelings.  I can't realise it yet, and feel all--"
+
+"Jumbled up!" suggested Agatha sympathetically.  "Of course you do.  I
+should myself.  Oh, Lil, do have them in yellow!  I've been thinking
+about it all the afternoon, and I think yellow would be sw-eet!  With
+bouquets of daffodils!  Very few people have yellow, and it would be so
+uncommon, and make us look much paler too.  I shall have a face like a
+beetroot with excitement; I know I shall."
+
+"I daresay!  And how should I look, I'd like to know?" queried
+Christabel loftily.  "Sea green, my dear.  I'm sallow enough as it is,
+but imagine my appearance in a yellow dress!  I should present a
+shocking spectacle!  Nothing is so nice as pink: it suits every one, and
+is so bright and pretty.  Pink silk dresses, with Leghorn hats."
+
+Elsie grimaced in disapproving fashion.
+
+"So commonplace!  Every one has pink.  We must have something altogether
+unique and striking.  No use deciding now, for we will change our minds
+a dozen times before the time arrives.  When are you to be married,
+Lilias?  What is the date?"
+
+"My dear, I've no notion!  I am not even properly engaged yet, so how
+could we begin talking about marriage?  I believe we are to be put on
+probation for some months, so it will certainly not be this year at any
+rate."
+
+"What a bore!  I'm longing to stay with you in your own house.  It's my
+idea of happiness to go and stay with you girls when you are married.
+You will ask us all in turns, won't you?  I'd like to come with
+Chrissie; and then, if you and Ned get too affectionate, we can amuse
+ourselves in another room.  It will be lovely having no grown-up person
+in the house.  Oh, well, of course, you are grown-up, if it comes to
+that, but only young grown-up, and that makes all the difference.  You
+won't make us do things because they are `good for us'--send us a walk
+when we don't feel inclined, for instance, or to bed early, or make us
+eat `good plain food.'  When I come to stay with you, I should like
+never to go out unless I have something special to do, and to have tea
+for lunch, and nice rich cake, and laze about from morning till night,
+just as I felt disposed."
+
+"And you'll ask people to meet us, won't you, Lil, and take us about,
+and give us all your old gloves and ribbons?  Marie Elder's sister is
+engaged, and he won't let her wear any gloves that are the l-east little
+bit soiled; so Marie gets them all.  I hope Ned will be fussy about your
+things, too.  What shall you call your house?  I hope it's a nice one.
+Florrie Elder is going to have a blue drawing-room, and Marie is working
+her a cushion of the most ex-quisite ribbon-work you ever did see.
+Florrie says she would quarrel with her nearest and dearest if he dared
+to lean against it.  If you like, I'll ask her for the pattern, and do
+one for you.  It wouldn't matter having them the same, when you live so
+far apart."
+
+"What will Jim say?  Ned and he vowed that they would be bachelors all
+their lives, and live together when they were old.  Now he will be
+obliged to marry himself, in revenge.  How I shall detest the girl!  She
+won't be half nice enough for him, and he will like her better than us,
+and that will be horribly exasperating.  I don't envy her when he brings
+her to see us, that's all!  Six sisters all glaring at her in a row, and
+saying to themselves, `I don't like her nose!'  `I don't like her eyes!'
+`What a hat!'  `However could he fall in love with her!'  And mother
+all icy kind, and father smirking behind his moustache.  That's what
+will happen to you one of these days, Lilias, when you go north, `on
+view,' to Ned's people."
+
+Lilias rolled her eyes, and affected to tear her hair in despair.
+
+"Oh, don't!  I pray you, don't!  I shall die with nervousness.  Poor
+little me!  His parents are reserved and undemonstrative, like most
+North-country people, he says, but are very tender-hearted at bottom.
+That means, I suppose, that they would be stiff and polite all the time
+I was there, and begin slowly to unbend just as I was coming away.
+Frederica, the girl, goes in for higher education, and doesn't care a
+bit about going about with other girls.  I know they will be
+disappointed with me.  Ned is so silly, and he is sure to tell them."--
+She stopped, sweetly simpering, and the hearers had little difficulty in
+guessing what it was that Ned would tell his people.  He would say that
+his _fiancee_ was the loveliest girl in the world; that she had hair
+like spun gold, a complexion of milk and roses, and eyes soft and dewy
+as a violet.  Then Lilias would arrive in person, and his people would
+think that he had not said half enough.  Each of the three hearers had a
+vision of Lilias advancing to meet the new relatives with lifted eyes,
+and a smile that would melt a heart of stone; each one saw in
+imagination the sudden thaw on the watching faces, and beheld Lilias
+installed forthwith as the pride and darling of the household.  They
+smiled at one another in furtive amusement, but discreetly avoided
+putting their thoughts into words, for Lilias fished so transparently
+for compliments, that it had become an unspoken law never on any
+condition to encourage her by giving the desired assurance.
+
+Agatha turned aside to hide her amusement, and, the next moment, gave a
+jump of astonishment.
+
+"Keep still!  Don't move!  For your lives don't look out of the window!
+Sit where you are, and go on talking.  My dears, he is watching us!  The
+Vanburgh!  I distinctly saw him lean forward and stare across.  He is in
+the room directly opposite, and he dodged back the moment I looked.
+Fancy his being as much interested in us as we are in him!  How
+exciting!"
+
+"We must look very ridiculous, sitting here in a row, chattering and
+waving our hands as if we were mad.  I don't wonder he stared, but I do
+want to stare back.  Let us take it in turns to peep beneath our
+eyelashes, while the others go on talking," suggested Elsie; and the
+proposal was carried out forthwith, each girl watching till the coveted
+glimpse had been obtained, and informing her companions of her success
+by groans and exclamations.
+
+"I see him, I do!  He is staring across.  He looks very ill.  His hair
+is quite white.  Poor old man, how dull he must be!"
+
+When it came to Chrissie's turn she stared across with undisguised
+curiosity, and refused to accept her sisters' reproaches when the white
+head was hurriedly withdrawn from view.
+
+"I was the last!  You had all had your turns, so I have not deprived you
+of anything," she maintained.  "I only meant to smile at him in a kind,
+neighbourly fashion.  He will look out again in a few minutes, never
+fear!"
+
+But Mr Vanburgh's face appeared no more at the window, and it seemed as
+if the knowledge that he had been observed had been so unwelcome as to
+put an end to his scrutiny.  The girls could only comfort themselves
+with the remembrance that their mother had promised to call at the
+Grange during the next few weeks, when, no doubt, first-hand information
+would be forthcoming about its occupant.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+NOT AT HOME!
+
+After due consultation, Mr and Mrs Rendell decided to sanction a
+private engagement between Lilias and Ned Talbot for a year to come,
+with the understanding that if the young people remained of the same
+mind, no objection would then be put in the way of their speedy
+marriage; and as they would be allowed to correspond, and to meet as
+often as opportunity offered, the decision was received with
+satisfaction by the lovers.  Lilias complacently settled to be married
+in fifteen months' time, and was resigned to a probation sweetened by
+the receipt of constant letters, presents, and adulation; while Ned,
+with characteristic honesty, confessed in his own heart that he had no
+very deep acquaintance with his beloved's character, and that he could
+not be better employed than in the study of the same.  Lilias's
+exquisite girlish beauty had so dazzled his senses, that he had been shy
+and ill at ease in her presence, and their conversations together had
+been of the lightest, most impersonal nature.  It would be an entrancing
+occupation to discover all the hidden charms possessed by this sweetest
+of created beings; for, like most young men, Ned was convinced that a
+lovely body must needs be an index to a lovely mind, and that beauty of
+face was but a reflection from the soul within.  Every month that passed
+would draw Lilias and himself more closely together, as each came to
+know and understand the depths of the other's nature.  So Ned told
+himself happily, as he came down to Thurston House for his first visit
+in the new character, a week after the all-important interview.
+
+Lilias met him at the door, and led him into the drawing-room, all
+fragrant with spring flowers and plants.  She looked like a flower
+herself, with her soft pink and white colouring, and to the last day of
+his life Ned Talbot could never inhale the fragrance of a narcissus or a
+hyacinth without a spasm of painful remembrance.  It brought back so
+vividly the intoxicating joy of that meeting.  They talked together in
+lover-like fashion, Lilias alternately shy and reticent, and queening it
+over him with absurd little airs of authority, at which he laughed with
+a lover's delight, until presently a tap came to the door, and Agatha's
+face peeped round the corner to announce that tea had been taken out to
+the garden, and to ask if the lovers would rather come out, or, have it
+sent to them indoors.
+
+"Here, please," said Lilias.
+
+"Oh, we'll come out certainly," cried Ned in the same moment, and then
+turned to her with a smile of apology.
+
+"If you don't mind, dear!  I want to see Maud.  She was out when I left
+the other day, you remember, and I can't feel that I am really received
+into the family until Maud has given me her blessing."
+
+"Just as you wish, of course.  It does seem a pity to stay indoors when
+the weather is so glorious!" assented Lilias readily.  Though inwardly
+annoyed that she should have appeared more anxious than Ned for an
+extension of their _tete-a-tete_, she was far too proud to show her
+vexation.  Nothing could have appeared more ready or more natural than
+the manner in which she rose from her seat and slipped her hand through
+Agatha's arm; but even while she smiled and chatted she was registering
+a vow to punish Mr Ned on the first opportunity.
+
+Out in the garden Maud sat, busying herself with the teacups and nerving
+herself to face the dreaded moment, as footsteps approached nearer and
+nearer her seat.
+
+"Maud!" cried Ned, and gripped her hand with affectionate fervour, "I
+was longing to see you.  It seemed too bad going away without a word
+from you the other day.  We have so much to say to one another!"
+
+"Yes, indeed; but meantime I must pour out the tea!  Are you going to
+make yourself useful and hand round the cups?" replied a laughing, self-
+possessed voice, which Maud hardly recognised as her own.  It was easier
+to play a part than she had expected: the looking forward had been worse
+than the reality; and, as she met her mother's smile and Nan's approving
+glance, she even began to feel a dreary pride in her own composure.
+Lilias had seated herself between two of her sisters, an intentional
+revenge for the slight which she considered herself to have received,
+and Ned was therefore left free to devote himself to his old friend.
+
+"Of course you saw--you knew what was coming," he whispered
+confidentially, when the general conversation made it possible to
+exchange a quiet remark.  "I realised that I gave myself away by my
+awkwardness and stupidity whenever she was present, but I was powerless
+to prevent it.  And you were so good to me, Maud, always doing your best
+to help and make things easy.  I can never be grateful enough for your
+friendship.  I am so thankful to feel that you are at home still.  It
+seems an assurance of safety; for you'll look after her, and see that
+she gets into no danger through all this long year of waiting."
+
+He looked at her appealingly, and she gave a forced little laugh.
+
+"Oh yes, I'll ward off the beasts of prey.  There are so many, you know,
+roving about this sleepy place.  She will meet so many dangers!"
+
+"Don't laugh at me!  I can't help being anxious.  She is so young and
+child-like, and there are dangers everywhere.  Illness, accident,
+infection.  I shall think of them when I am far away, and worry myself
+to death.  But you are a bulwark of strength, Maud, and if you will take
+her in charge--"
+
+Maud laughed again.  It seemed so ridiculous to think of any of her
+sisters promising to take Lilias in charge!  Lilias, the most cool-
+headed, independent, and self-confident member of the family.  She was
+infinitely more capable of taking care of the whole family than the
+family was of influencing her movements; but Ned could not be expected
+to realise as much, and he was obviously wounded by the absence of
+expected sympathy.
+
+An exclamation from Christabel, calling attention to Kitty Maitland's
+figure crossing the lawn, came as a welcome interruption, and Ned took
+the opportunity to cross to a seat on the other side of the group, while
+Maud watched his departure with mingled relief and concern.
+
+"He thinks I am hard and prosaic, and is disappointed in me.  Well,
+better so!  He won't confide his rhapsodies in my ear any more, and that
+would be really more than I could bear.  The old days are over, and he
+must look elsewhere for sympathy."
+
+Meantime Kitty had seated herself on the grass, and was proceeding to
+account for her appearance.
+
+"Please I hope you don't object to my coming back so soon!  Mummy has
+gone with father to call on Mr Vanburgh, and I walked with them to the
+Grange, and came in here to wait until she comes out.  She put on all
+her new things, and looks a perfect duck.  I expect he will like her
+awfully, and I told her to introduce my name into the conversation as
+often as possible.  `My daughter likes this'; `My daughter likes that';
+`As my little girl says to me';--that sort of thing, don't you know,
+just to attract his attention.  Perhaps he will tell her to bring me
+with her next time she calls, or even ask me to tea by myself.  He may
+have nieces or grandchildren who will come to stay, and then it would be
+useful to know a girl in the neighbourhood.  I think he is certain to
+ask me--"
+
+"Mother!" interrupted Chrissie shrilly; and her voice was so sharp with
+distress that every one stopped talking, to listen to what she had to
+say.  "Mother, Mrs Maitland has gone to see Mr Vanburgh before you!  I
+asked you to go!  I had set my heart on your being the first caller; and
+now it's too late, and you can only be second.  I told you so!  I _said_
+how it would be!"
+
+Mrs Rendell lifted her brows with the little surprised air of reproof
+which Chrissie knew so well.
+
+"I regret to have disappointed you, my dear," she replied, with
+elaborate politeness; "but I fear I should hardly have been the first
+caller, even if I had gone the day after my return, and I have been too
+much occupied this week to pay outside visits.  I am sure you will be
+delighted to hear Mrs Maitland's report, and will not grudge Kitty the
+pleasure, if she makes Mr Vanburgh's acquaintance before yourself."
+
+Chrissie collapsed into silence; but, veiled by her thickly-flowing
+hair, she grimaced to herself and scowled at her friend, who was
+regarding her with that air of enjoyment which it is impossible not to
+feel when a companion receives a nice little snub for her pains!
+
+Agatha and Elsie had already begun to invent forecasts of the news which
+Mrs Maitland would have to tell, when, to the amazement of all, who
+should appear round the corner of the house but that lady herself!  She
+carried her card-case in her hand, and waved her hand in greeting; but,
+for once in their lives, the girls were too much overcome with surprise
+to respond.
+
+Back already, when she had barely had time to go up to the door and
+retrace her steps!  What did it mean?  Not at home?  But Mr Vanburgh
+was always at home.  According to report, his farthest expedition was
+into the garden, where surely he would be able to receive a visitor on a
+bright spring afternoon.  Surprise held them dumb, until Mrs Maitland
+had reached speaking distance, when, with one accord, they deafened her
+with inquiries, to which she did her best to reply after the first
+greetings were over.
+
+"How do you do, Mrs Rendell?  Good afternoon, Mr Talbot.  I am one of
+the privileged _few_ who have been told your secret, and I wish you
+every happiness, and dear Lilias also.  I tell every engaged couple I
+meet that I hope they may only be as happy as I am.  My dear children,
+don't pull me to pieces; this is my very best dress!  I'll tell you all
+about it in a minute.  I am so glad to have this opportunity of seeing
+you all together, for I was longing to come over.  May I sit here?
+Well, then, to begin at the beginning..."
+
+She put her card-case on her lap, and clasped her hands together in
+preparation, and the girls watched her with approving eyes, for Mrs
+Maitland was a most satisfactory story-teller.  She began at the
+beginning--the very smallest possible beginning--instead of halfway
+through the narrative, as other grown-up people had a habit of doing,
+and went straight through to the end, noticing every detail, and
+describing it in racy, picturesque language.
+
+"Well, we went up to the door and rang the bell.  It is not an ordinary
+everyday bell, but a quaint, wrought-iron handle, hanging on a chain
+from a sort of signpost arrangement, and I could hear it pealing away in
+most melodious fashion inside the house.  The curtain inside the glass
+panels of the door was caught slightly back, and I could get a peep into
+the vestibule.  The oak has been left untouched, and there are palms on
+either side sunk into great pots of copper with snakes and dragons and
+all kinds of uncanny animals standing out in relief.  I was still
+peering through when the inner door was thrown open, and the butler
+appeared, upon which I straightened myself at once, and tried to look
+stately and dignified.  I had just one minute to take in the inner hall,
+so cannot tell you much about it, except that it is a perfect museum of
+wonderful and beautiful things--pieces of tapestry hung on the walls,
+carved oak cabinets full of curios, a figure of a knight in armour, and
+curious Eastern-looking lamps burning dimly in the distance; but the
+butler looked so very solemn and imposing that I dared not stare as much
+as I should have liked.  `Is Mr Vanburgh at home?'  I asked; and he
+inclined his head in a gracious bow.  `He is at home, madam, but is not
+receiving visitors.'  I drew out my cards, and said, `I am sorry to miss
+seeing him.  I hope he is not more unwell than usual to-day?'  He bowed
+again, like a mechanical figure, and said, `Mr Vanburgh charges me to
+say, madam, that as he is unable to return visits, he must deprive
+himself of the pleasure of receiving them while in Waybourne.'  I never
+felt so small in my life.  Dismissed on the doorstep, and sent away like
+a child!  I don't know how I looked, or what I said.  My one idea was to
+get out of the man's sight as quickly as possible; and the door had no
+sooner closed on him than I began dreading Kit's disappointment.  It was
+a most trying experience!  Father has gone for a walk, and I came in to
+break the news to you!"
+
+She looked appealingly at Kitty as she finished, and met a glance of
+blackest gloom.  This was indeed a blow.  Not only were there no Miss
+Vanburghs, but the only Vanburgh who was left refused to open his door
+to visitors!
+
+"Piteous!" cried Chrissie; and Agatha struck her hands together in
+despair.
+
+"There ought to be a law about it--a law to prevent hermits from buying
+the best houses in a neighbourhood.  Does he mean to say that he will
+see nobody?" she cried.  "Perhaps he didn't know who you were, Mrs
+Maitland.  He takes an interest in us, we know, for we have _seen_ him
+staring across.  Perhaps if he had known you belonged to Kitty, it might
+have been different.  Mother, you will go all the same, won't you?  You
+won't give up without trying?"
+
+Mrs Rendell shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"I am not particularly anxious to be turned away from the door, and I
+see no reason why I should be treated better than Mrs Maitland.  The
+servant is evidently entrusted with a general message.  I think the best
+thing will be to send father across on Saturday afternoon, to see if the
+rule applies to ladies only.  If Mr Vanburgh really wants to be quiet,
+we can't force ourselves upon him.  I am sorry the Grange is not let to
+more interesting people, but we must make the best of it.  It has
+evidently been chosen as a museum in which to store a collection of art
+treasures, and, after all, you must remember it is no more closed to us
+now than it has been for years past."
+
+"Dear me, no!  We can live without the Grange, I hope.  Let the poor old
+dear shut himself up if he likes.  He will be the loser, not we!" cried
+Mrs Maitland, laughing.  That was the worst of grown-up people!  They
+were so aggravatingly reasonable and resigned!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+DIOGENES AT THE WINDOW.
+
+After a storm comes a calm.  As in Nature, so in the affairs of human
+life, and the Rendells found another example of the truth of the old
+adage in the month following Lilias's engagement.  Nothing seemed to
+happen; even the interest which had been taken in the new occupant of
+the Grange died away after Mr Rendell's failure to gain admission, and
+one day jog--trotted away after another in monotonous fashion.
+
+They were dreary days to Maud, but at the end of even the longest and
+dreariest she acknowledged to herself that the battle was not so
+hopeless as she had expected.  The trouble was there, the difficult
+moments arose, the quick stabs of pain following happy memories, but she
+herself was strengthened to bear them in a manner which she could not
+have believed possible.  Maud was one of the sweet, open characters who
+are religious by nature; but though she had asked for God's help every
+night of her life, she had never been conscious of its presence in such
+abundance as in this hour of trial.  It almost awed her at times to
+realise her own strength, and this testing of the power of faith was a
+ray of light shining out of the darkness.  Passages from the Bible which
+she had known all her life became suddenly instinct with new and
+wonderful meaning; the words of Christ went straight home to her sore
+heart and comforted it as no earthly power could do.  The new communion
+had a joy and a sweetness which she had never known before, and her
+character grew daily stronger and deeper under the influence of sorrow
+nobly borne.  Her mother's tenderness, moreover, manifested itself in a
+hundred little schemes for her distraction, and Nan's demonstrative
+affection heartened her for the fight.  The world was not all lost
+because Ned had chosen another; and, so far from neglecting her old
+duties, Maud worked away more industriously than ever, finding her best
+medicine in a busy, occupied life.
+
+Ned Talbot had gone back to the North, whence he could not return for
+two months to come, and Lilias settled down contentedly to play the
+interesting part of the _fiancee_.  She did not fret for her lover, but
+seemed abundantly content to receive his letters, and pen lengthy
+answers; and though the date of her marriage was so far ahead, she began
+at once to make preparations for her future home.  One rainy afternoon
+she shut herself in her bedroom, and rearranged all her belongings,
+leaving the lowest drawer in the wardrobe empty, and covered with fresh
+white paper.  Then she wrote something at her desk, lingered outside the
+door for a minute, and finally rejoined her sisters, with a mischievous
+smile curving the corners of her pretty lips.
+
+Presently Chrissie ran upstairs on some trifling errand, and came to a
+stand-still on the landing, uttering sharp cries of surprise; then
+Agatha followed to discover the cause of the excitement, and guffawed
+with laughter, when Nan and Elsie jumped from their chairs and ran
+helter-skelter in pursuit.  They found the two younger girls leaning up
+against the wall, staring at the door of Lilias's room, on the centre of
+which was tacked a square of paper, neatly lined and lettered:--
+
+NOTICE!
+
+TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
+
+  Miss Lilias Rendell desires to inform her friends and the public
+  generally that she has just opened a Bottom Drawer, and that every
+  description of household goods, useful and ornamental, will be
+  gratefully accepted towards the furnishing of her future home.
+
+  _NB_--Carved oak articles especially welcome!
+
+"That's one for me!" cried Nan, grimacing.  "What is your especial
+fancy, my love--a side-board or a dining-room table?  Don't be bashful,
+pray!  Aim at the sky, and you may succeed in hitting the tree.  I
+shouldn't wonder if I rose to a milking-stool, if you asked me nicely."
+
+"And I'll work you a kettle-holder, sweet one, as soon as the sale is
+over, and Chrissie a--"
+
+"Twine bag," said Chrissie, simpering; "but until July you might as well
+give up the idea, Lilias.  Every moment we have, we must use for sale-
+work, and every penny we can save in to the bargain.  We can't attend to
+you just yet."
+
+"I thought perhaps you might start me with a few contributions from the
+things you have made," said modest Lilias.  "The drawer looks lonesome
+with nothing in it, and I've made it so tidy!  It would be a comfortable
+home for that little blue cushion, and the mats with the roses.  And you
+would never miss them!"
+
+"Wouldn't we just?  The very best things we have!  It is a pity your
+modesty doesn't equal your taste.  I should miss the smallest thing we
+have made; and whenever I get low-spirited, I turn them all out of the
+box and gloat over the collection--eleven pin-cushions, three sets of
+mats, a table centre, three work-bags, two handkerchief sachets, six
+babies' shoes, and a nice wool shawl!  It's not bad for a start, and
+there are lots of things on hand, besides Nan's carving and brass-work.
+It would be like tearing my heart out of my body to give anything away,
+and I don't think it would be at all a nice idea to start your
+collection by stealing from the poor!"
+
+Lilias looked appalled at the suggestion, but all the same she was not
+too much shocked to seize on the chance of future spoils.
+
+"Agatha, how can you?  I am the last person in the world to think of
+such a thing.  I suggested the sale, remember; you would not have had it
+at all but for me; but how could a little thing like a pin-cushion be
+called a theft?  However, it's all right; don't give them me at present
+if you would rather not.  After the sale there are sure to be some
+things left, and then--You would not mind giving them to me then, I
+suppose?"
+
+"Certainly not.  At least I am quite willing if the others are," said
+Agatha, looking round inquiringly; upon which Nan and Elsie nodded
+assent, and Chrissie bargained, "Unless I am engaged myself by that
+time, when, of course, they must be equally divided,"--a contingency so
+remote that Lilias congratulated herself on a good morning's work, and
+felt that so far as pin-cushions were concerned the future held no
+further anxiety.
+
+Work for the sale had, indeed, been carried forward with great zest; and
+now that the days were lengthening, there was a good two hours after
+tea, when Kitty could join the party in the porch-room, and stitch away
+at some dainty task while carrying on that breathless stream of
+conversation which never seemed to run short, despite the daily
+meetings.  Nan brought down her carving, and worked at a little table of
+her own; Elsie cut and planned with delicate, accurate fingers; and the
+three younger girls sewed away in characteristic fashion: Agatha bending
+double over the seam; Christabel, erect and stately, drawing her thread
+to its full length with leisurely, dignified movements; and Kitty, with
+her spectacles on the tip of her nose, peering over them from time to
+time in grandmotherly concern at the frivolity of her companions.
+
+Nothing more had been discovered about "Diogenes," as Mr Vanburgh had
+been nicknamed since his refusal to receive visitors; but on fine days
+his couch was wheeled close to the window, and as he lay looking out, it
+was inevitable that the movements of the girls in the sunny porch-room
+immediately opposite should attract his wandering attention.  When they
+glanced across in their turn, he politely turned aside, and appeared
+engrossed in his book; but no sooner were they at work again than the
+tired eyes would be lifted once more, to dwell with wistful interest on
+the bright young faces.  One afternoon in especial, as Nan sat bending
+over her carving, the conviction strengthened that she was observed.
+She peered under her eyelashes, smiled mischievously to herself, and
+suddenly leapt from her seat in a manner most startling to the nerves of
+her sisters.  She hopped on one foot and waved her arms in the air; she
+swooped down on Chrissie's work and threw it wildly to the ceiling; she
+thrust her face into Elsie's and went off into a peal of maniacal
+laughter, which sent that nervous young person flying to the farthest
+corner.  She seized a bundle of ribbons and danced an impromptu skirt
+dance, flourishing them to and fro, while he onlookers scuttled together
+like rabbits, and felt that their lives trembled in the balance.
+Finally, after succeeding in turning the room topsy-turvy, and raising
+the most powerful doubts as to her own sanity, Miss Nan tottered out on
+to the landing and collapsed in a breathless heap on the lowest stair,
+while her sisters looked on askance from a discreet distance.
+
+"H-have some sal volatile!  I'll get it from my room.  Never mind, dear,
+you'll be better soon!" stuttered Elsie fearfully; but at that the crazy
+creature laughed afresh, though in a more restrained and natural
+fashion.
+
+"Oh no; I am not mad!  I did it for a purpose, my dear, as you shall
+hear.  That poor old Diogenes was lying on his couch, looking across
+with such a dull, pathetic face, and I felt so sorry that the poor dear
+had nothing more exciting to amuse him.  He must be precious dull when
+he takes so much interest in girls like us, and I felt grieved to think
+how little fun we had given him, sitting sewing day after day like so
+many machines.  I says to myself, says I, `It is in your power, Margaret
+Rendell, to infuse some brightness into the lot of this poor lonely
+sufferer, and you are going to do it!  He shall have some excitement
+before the day is over, bless him!'  Therefore, as you perceived, I
+executed a new and original war-dance for his benefit, and sent you all
+attitudinising about the room.  That's the reason of this thusness, and
+Diogenes is now, no doubt, full of agitation, believing that one so
+young and fair has suddenly lost her wits, and imagining you all
+occupied in binding me to the bedpost till help arrives!"
+
+"I don't know how he feels, but I feel extremely ill!" grumbled Elsie,
+her sympathy suddenly changed to resentment.  "Sticking your face into
+mine and laughing in that crazy fashion.  Never do it again!  My heart
+is right up in my throat, and thumping like a steam-engine.  I can't
+work any more.  I am going to recover my equanimity in the garden!"
+
+Poor Diogenes!  It was baffling to curiosity that all the actors should
+have disappeared at the most exciting moment of the play; and the actors
+themselves were fully aware of the fact, and with child-like enjoyment
+determined to lengthen out the mystery.  The porch-room was abandoned
+for the afternoon, and such sequestered nooks in the garden as were
+invisible from the Grange were chosen as resting-places, while Kitty
+willingly consented to walk an extra half-mile on her way home, so as to
+avoid going out by the front gate.  Such a reversal of the usual comings
+and goings would, it was hoped, give the final touch to Mr Vanburgh's
+curiosity, and teach him a wholesome lesson on the folly of shutting
+himself up and holding no communication with the world.  When Agatha
+suggested that the poor old dear might lie awake all night from
+agitation, Nan cold-bloodedly hoped that he would, since he, on his
+part, had been so cruel as to shut the doors of the Grange against his
+neighbours.
+
+She would have been much surprised if she had known how, and for whom,
+those doors would first be opened!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+A VISIT OF CEREMONY.
+
+At the beginning of May the first returning ray of brightness came into
+Maud's life.  A letter arrived from a friend of the family who had been
+living abroad for her daughter's education, and had now reached Paris,
+preparatory to returning to England in a month's time.  It had been all
+work and no play for the girl during the winter, her mother wrote, and
+it had been long promised that the month in Paris should be entirely
+given over to pleasure-seeking.  Mabel had drawn out a programme so
+lengthy and varied, that Mrs Nevins doubted whether she herself would
+have strength to go through it.  One thing at least was certain, that
+the girl's enjoyment would be doubled by the presence of a companion of
+her own age, who would be able to share her ecstasies, as a tired-out,
+middle-aged woman could never do.  Therefore, might Maud come?  Could
+Maud be spared for a month to give Mabel the very great pleasure of her
+society?  She should have every care, and be brought back to London
+early in June.
+
+Mrs Rendell carried the letter up to Maud as she practised in her room,
+and handed it to her with a smile; and Maud flushed and paled, and laid
+her hand affectionately on her little mother's shoulder.
+
+"Mummy! how much from you, and how much from Mrs Nevins?  You have had
+something to do with this, I'm sure you have.  The suggestion came from
+you in the first instance!"
+
+"Pooh!  What a child!  Such notions as she takes!" cried Mrs Rendell
+laughingly.  "How it comes about is little matter; you don't need to be
+told how truly delighted Mabel will be to have you.  You can believe in
+that, at least.  And Paris!  You have always wanted to go to Paris,
+dear!"
+
+"Yes, mother, I have.  Oh yes, always!"  Maud smiled bravely, trying
+hard to appear as pleased and elated as her mother expected.  It was not
+the first, nor the second, nor the twentieth time that she had
+discovered schemes for her own benefit during the last few weeks.
+School friends had been invited on visits; books for which she had
+wished had opportunely arrived from town; concert tickets had been
+purchased with unprecedented frequency.  Maud fully appreciated the
+kindly purpose of these attentions, and, to a certain extent, enjoyed
+the amusements provided; but she was conscious of a dreary regret that
+these long-wished-for pleasures should arrive at a time when it was
+impossible to throw herself into them with whole-hearted enjoyment.  The
+regret was particularly keen at this moment, for to her, as to so many
+girls, the first trip abroad had been the dream of a lifetime, and a
+pang came with the realisation of how different from her expectations
+the realisation must be.  The ache at her heart would cloud the
+brightness of the beautiful city,--she would look at everything, as it
+were, through a veil of crape.  The tears rose to her eyes despite all
+her efforts, and she turned hastily aside, fearing that her mother might
+think her ungrateful for receiving the news in such churlish fashion.
+Mrs Rendell, however, affected to notice nothing unusual, and talked
+away in cheery accents, discussing various practical matters concerning
+the proposed visit, in which it was impossible not to feel an interest.
+Maud's tears dried gradually; she found herself suggesting amendments to
+the plans, and growing momentarily more interested and eager.  She was
+to be entrusted with a sum of money with which to buy presents for her
+sisters, besides a well-filled purse for her own use.  She and Mabel
+could choose their summer clothes together, amid the bewildering
+fascinations of Parisian fashions; and there was absolutely no limit in
+the amount of sight-seeing permissible.  She could run the whole gamut,
+from the Louvre to the Catacombs, and get to know her Paris almost as
+well as she knew her London.  What girl of twenty-three would not feel
+her woes assuaged by such a programme, especially in the company of a
+bosom friend to whom she had been devoted from childhood?
+
+Mr and Mrs Rendell rejoiced to see Maud's brightening face, and to
+hear her voice raised to its old happy ring, as she busied herself with
+preparations for her journey; and Nan rejoiced as much as they, and
+racked her brains to discover how she could best assist in the same
+preparations.
+
+"Let me do some sewing for you!  Do let me help!" she pleaded, and
+proceeded to stitch up the seams entrusted to her with such
+unprecedented care and neatness, that Maud hid the garments at the
+bottom of her box, not having the heart to disclose that the seams were
+on the wrong side, and must needs be as laboriously unpicked!  She upset
+a box of tooth-powder over a blue serge skirt; squeezed a bundle of
+boots on the top of a chiffon bodice, and went beaming downstairs,
+feeling that at last she had learned to be domesticated and to render
+efficient service!
+
+Maud departed smiling and cheery, and all the members of the family drew
+a breath of relief as she drove off from the door.  The secret
+consciousness of her suffering had been a cloud over their spirits for
+the past month, and now, as was only natural, a reaction set in, when
+restrained spirits found their vent.
+
+Mr and Mrs Rendell went up to town for a couple of nights to attend a
+dinner-party and reception, and the girls discussed how they could best
+organise a little festivity on their own account.  It was decided to
+hold the first picnic of the season, bicycling to a favourite spot in
+the woods, where primroses and bluebells were luxuriant, and to invite
+Mrs Maitland and Miss Phelps to drive up in a pony cart stored with
+provisions for an out-of-door tea.  Everything was arranged--cakes were
+baked, sandwiches cut, cream and milk corked up in bottles, and a basket
+packed with every requisite--when, "of course," as Elsie had it, the
+rain descended in sheets, and the project was frustrated.
+
+The usual scene of grumbling and ejaculating followed, before the girls
+could resign themselves to their fate.  To settle down to practise and
+study seemed unbearably dreary after looking forward to such a charming
+excursion; but there was nothing else to be done, so they marched
+sulkily to their different occupations, and did not meet again until
+after four o'clock.  Then the schoolroom party joined Lilias in the
+library, and were about to summon Nan from the attic, when Mary entered,
+bringing a card on a salver.
+
+Some one had been brave enough to face the elements, and pay a call in
+the midst of a downpour of rain.  Whom could it be?  Lilias examined the
+card with curious eyes, and turned in surprise towards her sisters.
+
+"Miss Thacker!  Don't know her from Adam.  Who in the world is Miss
+Thacker?"
+
+"Oh--er--er--Wait a moment and I'll remember!" cried Agatha, ruffling
+her hair in reflection.  "I've heard the name, I'm sure--I know!  She's
+the creature who's come to Willow Cottage.  She called once before, and
+mother said she could not for the life of her decide whether she was
+quite mad, or only three-quarters.  What can she want?"
+
+"Have to go and see, I suppose.  Or stay, I'll bring her in here, to
+have some tea, and then you can help me to entertain her; but whatever
+you do, don't laugh!  It's awfully bad form to make fun of a visitor."
+And Lilias left the room, to return followed by a tall female figure,
+which certainly approached perilously near the grotesque in appearance.
+
+An old-fashioned poke bonnet and a gauze veil shaded a solemn white
+face, braids of red hair fell over the cheeks, horn-rimmed spectacles
+covered the eyes, while the absence of two front teeth gave a singularly
+blank and unpleasant expression to the mouth.  A merino shawl was folded
+across the shoulders, and a venerable silk skirt dripped with rain upon
+the carpet.  An extraordinary-looking figure indeed; and it would appear
+that eccentricity was not confined to appearance only, for the stranger
+returned the girls' salutations with wriggles of the body, and began at
+once to talk in a soft guttural voice, running her words together
+without any stops, and at such express train speed that every now and
+then she was obliged to stop short, and give a deep gasp of exhaustion.
+
+"S-S-Sorry your mother is from mome me dears quite counted on finding
+her rat ome.  Said to myself at lunch must go and see Mrs Rendell
+s'afternoon such a kind woman full of sympathy for rothers!  Hurried out
+and thought as had come so far might come in and see Miss Rendell as
+servant said at tome and disengaged!"
+
+The big mouth opened in a gasp for breath, which was heard throughout
+the room, and Lilias stammered out a dismayed assent.
+
+"Certainly--of course.  So glad you did.  If I can do anything I shall
+be most pleased--"
+
+"Of course, my dear.  Your mother's daughter.  Knew it by your face.
+Not tany tea, thank you, bad for digestion enjoyed bad health for many
+years and can only stay a minute.  Called at four rouses already to-day
+with no result.  Breaks your rart to see the callous sardness of the
+human race, every luxury and ease themselves and cold as sice to others.
+Wouldn't believe it unless you were present to see rebuffs si get.
+Ladies not a mile from this souse--could mention names but won't--pay
+pounds and pounds for gloves and dats and not talf-a-crown to spare for
+crying need, but said to myself all day, Mrs Rendell will help!  I'll
+get ta welcome there!"
+
+"Oh yes, I'm sure mother would be pleased," stammered Lilias, more and
+more puzzled to understand the drift of the strange woman's remarks.
+From the farther end of the room a little squeaky sound was heard,
+elaborately turned into a cough.  Lilias grew hot with embarrassment,
+and Miss Thacker peered suspiciously over her spectacles as she produced
+a circular from her satchel and handed it over for inspection.  It bore
+the heading "Waybourne Home for Incurables," and set forth a plea for
+help with which the girl was already familiar.  She read it over,
+however, once and yet again, puzzling her head meantime as to what to do
+next.  To refuse to give a donation was to class one's self at once
+among those whose "callous sardness" had been denounced, and Lilias's
+love of appreciation was so intense, that even before this unlovely
+stranger she could not bear to appear in an unfavourable light.  She
+determined to delay the evil moment, and leave to her mother the
+unpleasant task of refusal; for it seemed in the last degree unlikely
+that Mrs Rendell would desire to supplement her ordinary subscription
+by a gift to an unauthorised collector.
+
+"I am very sorry you should have had your walk in the rain," she said
+sweetly, "but, of course, in mother's absence I can make no promises.
+She will be home the day after to-morrow, if you could call again to see
+her."
+
+She flattered herself that she had evaded the difficulty very cleverly,
+but Miss Thacker rounded on her in unexpected fashion.
+
+"Shouldn't dream of asking you my love.  Too much respect for your dear
+mother but wished to appeal to young and generous sarts like self and
+sisters!  Any contribution however small!  Every little helps.  Most
+grateful I am sure, subscription or donation?"
+
+"But--but," Lilias heard three separate gasps of dismay from the window,
+and realising that no help was forthcoming from that quarter, nerved
+herself to the unpleasant task.
+
+"We should like to subscribe very much indeed, if we could, but we have
+only a small allowance, and at present are doing all we can to assist
+another charity.  I fear that we cannot spare any more money--"
+
+Miss Thacker peered at her solemnly through her spectacles, and shook
+her head from side to side.
+
+"Ah, yes, my dear, can if you will!  Every luxury and comfort, cup
+overflowing, only Will is lacking.  Look into your rart and ask yourself
+what can I deny myself for rothers?  Some worldly bauble, some article
+of adornment which you had planned to get, which you could do without,
+and reap pa rich reward.  What is a hat, a dress, a fan, compared to the
+succour rof suffering garts?"
+
+Now, as it happened, Lilias was bound for town the very next day to buy
+a supply of those fineries which her soul loved, so that this suggestion
+was so aptly timed as to strike her dumb with confusion.  She could have
+gushed over the poor incurables for an hour on end; was ready to shed
+tears at a recital of their woes; but to give up a new hat in order to
+devote the money to their use, this was a flight of generosity to which
+Miss Lilias Rendell could never attain!  She grew hot with anger at the
+inconsiderateness of the stranger in proposing such a sacrifice, hotter
+than ever at the thought of the three young sisters agape to hear her
+answer.  Here was a pretty alternative, to consent and go without some
+detail of her summer outfit, or to refuse and be branded as vain and
+selfish?  Lilias chose a middle course, and, extracting half a crown
+from her purse, handed it over with melancholy resignation.
+
+"I shall be pleased to give you a small donation, but I would rather my
+name did not appear in your list.  Put it down as from a friend."
+
+"Or a Giver--a Cheerful Giver!" cried Miss Thacker, with an accent on
+the adjective which brought the blood into Lilias's cheeks.  The
+wretched woman seemed to have fathomed her reluctance, and to be
+scoffing at her beneath a pretence of approval; but surely, now that she
+had got what she wanted, she would take her departure, and end this most
+trying scene.  She made a little movement of dismissal, whereupon Miss
+Thacker glanced appealingly at the window.
+
+"And our rother dear young friends," she was beginning, when suddenly
+she put her hands up to her face and made a curious spluttering noise,
+at sound of which the sisters started in dismay.  She recovered herself
+at once, and continued her harangue with redoubled energy; but suspicion
+had been aroused, and could not easily be allayed.  That laugh!  It had
+been so like, so extraordinarily like; and yet that hair--that
+complexion--those missing teeth!  It could not be!  Chrissie drew nearer
+and nearer, staring at the stranger with searching scrutiny, met a
+direct glance of the eyes, and straightway flew upon her, wrenching off
+bonnet and veil, and twitching the horn-rimmed glasses from her nose.
+She squeaked and struggled, and fought the air with her woollen gloves,
+but it was of no avail: there she sat, discovered and exposed, with
+Nan's dark tresses streaming down behind the auburn front, Nan's
+dimpling smile breaking over the whitened face.
+
+"Such callous sardness!  Dragged my hair out by the roots!  Is that the
+way you treat your visitors, my dear young friends?" she stuttered; but
+her dear young friends had no sympathy for her woes, and crowded round
+her, breathless with indignation.
+
+"Wretched, miserable girl, so it was you all the time!  What made you do
+it?"
+
+"Wanted to amuse you on a wet day, and couldn't think of anything
+better.  Did I do it well?"
+
+"Abominably well!  I could never have believed we should have been so
+deceived.  How you managed to disguise your voice I can't think, and to
+make yourself look so awful.  You are as white as a clown; and your
+teeth, Nan!  What has become of your teeth?"
+
+"Covered them with black sticking-plaster, that's all.  Not even for
+your benefit, my dears, could I extract my two front molars.  I smeared
+my face with cold cream, and then rubbed in flour.  Sticky, but
+efficacious, and sucked a chocolate all the time, to make my voice
+thick.  I'll swallow it now."  Nan gulped, and rolled her eyes in
+expressive enjoyment.  "When I was dressed, I stole downstairs, let
+myself out of the side gate, and rang at the bell as bold as brass.
+Mary did not recognise me, so I felt I was safe; but my one terror was
+lest you should go upstairs to call me down."
+
+"And you found all the clothes in the dressing-up box!  It is so long
+since we used it that I had almost forgotten the dear old things.  The
+shawl and skirt I recognise, of course, but you have trimmed the bonnet
+yourself.  I will say for you, my dear, that you made the most appalling
+old woman I have ever encountered."
+
+"But I don't quite approve of making fun of anything so very, very sad
+as those dear incurables!" said Lilias solemnly.  "Well, perhaps you
+didn't make fun of them exactly, but it was not quite a nice subject to
+choose for a practical joke.  We ought to think of them tenderly.--By
+the by, I want that half-crown, Nan.  Give it back to me!"
+
+"N-ay!" drawled Nan, shaking her head, and speaking in broad, North-
+country dialect, "N-ay, lass!  I'll none give it oop.  It mun bide with
+me till I dee!  I'll give you back good coin of the realm instead, but
+this precious piece is mine, and shall be pierced with a hole, and
+chained to my side, to commemorate the occasion.  It will be good for
+you as well as for me.  You can look at it, and remember how generous
+you were!"
+
+"Humph!" said Lilias, and turned to the tea-table to pour out the long-
+delayed tea.  It was too strong to drink; and when Mary appeared in
+response to the bell, it was a treat to see her stagger back at the
+sight of the dishevelled figure in the arm-chair, and to watch the smile
+of benign condescension with which Nan wrinkled up her face and inclined
+her red-brown head.
+
+Mary was an old friend of the family, and on sufficiently intimate terms
+to express her opinion in terms unchequered by forms of politeness.  She
+wished to be informed what Miss Nan would be up to next, and repeated
+with unction her own description of the "Hugliest old woman you ever set
+eyes on," as given to cook in the kitchen, ten minutes earlier.  "We've
+been talking about you ever since, and wondering what you were after."
+
+This was fame indeed!  The girls shared in the reflected glory of Nan's
+performance, and only regretted that it had not been witnessed by a
+larger audience, while Chrissie, in especial, bewailed the absence of
+her _alter ego_.
+
+"Kitty will never forgive us if she doesn't see you," she declared.
+"Oh, Nan, do go and call upon Mrs Maitland!  Then Kitty would see you,
+and you might get some more money from her!  It would be the most
+splendid fun.  Oh, Nan, do!  I'll love you for ever, if you will!"
+
+Elsie and Agatha swelled the chorus by groans of appeal, and Nan visibly
+wavered.  She could do nothing until she had had tea, she declared, but
+after that, if the rain grew less heavy, she would consider the matter;
+and hesitation being taken for assent, she was plied with cake and
+waited upon with obsequious attention.  The elements seemed in favour of
+the scheme, for, by the time that tea was finished, the downpour was
+exchanged for a gentle drizzle, which could afford no excuse to a
+weather-proof creature like Nan Rendell.  She was therefore shawled and
+bonneted once more, escorted to the front door by a giggling and excited
+quartette, and set off forthwith to tramp half a mile of muddy high
+road, half abashed at finding herself abroad in such a strange guise,
+altogether delighted at the madcap nature of the expedition.
+
+The visit to Mrs Maitland was a huge success, for Kitty sat staring
+solemnly over her spectacles, while her mother had obviously much ado
+not to laugh outright at the eccentricities of her visitor.  In the
+matter of donations she presented a firmer front than Lilias had done,
+but Nan would not allow herself to be foiled without a struggle.  When
+Mrs Maitland said bravely, "I cannot see my way to giving anything more
+at present," she bridled as with indignation, and replied--
+
+"But you must not consider yourself, you must consider Me!  Here am I,
+tramping through mud and mire, drenched with rain, and chilled with
+cold; here rare you in your comfortable home, surrounded with luxury and
+dease, and you turn a deaf ear to the cause si plead, and let me toil in
+vain.  No!  I cannot gaze upon your good, kind face, and believe in such
+callous sardness ...  The smallest trifle, if it be but half a crown--"
+
+Well, it seemed a cheap price to pay to get rid of the terrible
+creature!  Like Lilias, Mrs Maitland meekly handed over the desired
+coin, and rose to her feet with an air of determination.
+
+"And now, if you will excuse me!  I am rather busy, and--"
+
+Nan bowed and smirked, then suddenly swooped across the room to where
+Kitty sat, her arms stretched wide in invitation.
+
+"And will the dear child give me a sweet kiss before ri go?"
+
+The consternation of the "dear child" and her mother can be imagined;
+but discovery came with the next moment, together with such shriekings
+of delight, such shakings and scoldings, such questionings and
+exclaimings, as were proper to the occasion.  Nan returned home in high
+glee, chuckling over the success of the afternoon's escapade, and far
+from suspecting that the chief adventure still was to come.  Such was
+the fact, however, and this is the way in which it happened.
+
+She had passed along the high road in safety, meeting few inhabitants,
+owing to the inclemency of the weather, and looking forward with delight
+to the welcome which she would receive from her sisters.  Presently
+Thurston House came in view, and, sure enough, there were four excited
+heads bobbing to and fro at the window, four broad beams of amusement to
+testify to the grotesqueness of her appearance.  Nan lifted a solemn
+glance in return, and Chrissie, seized with a sudden demon of mischief,
+pointed a forefinger at the door opposite, and gesticulated violently in
+its direction.  As plainly as words could speak, that forefinger said,
+"Call at the Grange!  There's an adventure for you, if you like!  Beard
+the lion in his den.  I dare you to do it!  You dare not go!"
+
+It was done on the impulse of the moment, and on the impulse of the
+moment Nan turned and skipped obediently across the street.  She never
+thought of possible consequences; her one idea was to horrify her
+sisters by pretending to carry out the suggestion, and the sight of
+their agitated faces pressed against the pane was sufficient
+encouragement to sustain her courage, as a pull at the bell sent a
+pealing chime through the house.  The appearance of the old butler in
+the doorway did indeed evoke a thrill of nervousness, but then, what
+mattered?  Visitors were never admitted, and she would certainly be
+dismissed, even as the others had been before her!
+
+She quite prided herself upon the _sang-froid_ with which she made the
+usual inquiry--
+
+"Mr Vanburgh is at home, I presume?  Will he be able to see me this
+afternoon?"
+
+"Certainly, madam.  Will you walk in?  Mr Vanburgh is quite at
+liberty."
+
+The horror of it seemed to take away all power of resistance.  Did the
+man drag her in by force, or did she obey him of her own accord?  Nan
+could not tell.  The awful truth remained that the next moment she stood
+within the hall, and the door was shut behind her!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+DIOGENES AT HOME.
+
+"This way, please, ma'am.  Will you come up-stairs?" said the butler;
+and Nan stumbled blindly forward, past the branching palms, the Indian
+cabinets, the knight in his glittering armour, past a hundred treasures,
+with never an eye to notice one of them, and a heart beating fast with
+agitation.  The ascent seemed to last for a year, yet it would be over
+far too soon; the dreaded moment of introduction would arrive, and, in
+the name of all that was horrifying and perplexing, what should she do
+then?  By what name should she be announced?  What should she state as
+the object of her visit?  What excuse could she offer for her intrusion?
+
+"If I ever get out of this alive, I'll first pay out Miss Chrissie, and
+then turn over a new leaf for life!  No more practical jokes for me!"
+said Nan to herself, and pulled her bonnet resolutely over her face.
+The butler had paused, and was looking at her inquiringly as he threw
+open the door of his master's room, and waited to announce her name.
+She croaked at him,--there is no other word to describe the inarticulate
+sound which issued from her lips,--then swept forward, and the man
+retired, no doubt thinking the stranger's manner on a par with her
+appearance.
+
+Left to herself, Nan took a few steps forward and stopped abruptly,
+finding herself in a room which was at once the most beautiful and the
+most extraordinary which she had ever beheld.  In every direction in
+which she turned her eyes, they were greeted by some quaint treasure,
+which had been brought from the ends of the earth to be stored against a
+background of tapestry and carved oak panel.  It was like stepping back
+hundreds of years, and finding one's self in an old baronial castle; and
+the occupant of the room was in keeping with his surroundings.  He lay
+on his couch, staring at her with sunken eyes, a picturesque-looking old
+man, with a complexion of bleached transparency; a white head, covered
+by a velvet skull-cap, and a wasted form, wrapped in a dressing--gown of
+embroidered Oriental silk.  He looked both sad and suffering, and Nan
+recognised as much with a pang of regret for all the hard terms she had
+lavished upon his want of hospitality.  Yes, indeed! he looked too ill
+to receive visitors; too weary to be troubled with the commonplaces.
+What could she say to explain her own visit?  What in the world should
+she find to talk about?
+
+"Won't you sit down?" said a melodious voice.  "Pray take a seat!  I
+cannot wait upon you myself, as you see, but I can recommend that old
+saddle-bag.  It is most comfortable."  As he spoke, the invalid waved
+his hand towards a chair near his own, and Nan seated herself upon it in
+silence, glancing timidly in his face.  This dumbness was appalling.
+She racked her brains to think of something to say, but no ideas were
+forthcoming; she could only twist her fingers in embarrassment, and wait
+another lead.
+
+"It is most kind of you to come to see me on such a tempestuous
+afternoon," Mr Vanburgh continued politely.  "I did not expect any
+callers.  Ladies, as a rule, are not fond of venturing out in the rain,
+unless they have special business on hand."
+
+Bravo!  Here was a lead at last!  What could be better than to follow up
+the suggestion of a business call?  Nan asked herself eagerly.  Mrs
+Maitland had regretted the loss of subscriptions upon which she had
+counted from the wealthy owner of the Grange: would it not be a good
+action if she could draw Mr Vanburgh's attention to the needs of the
+Incurables, and induce him to promise a subscription?  She would not
+take the money, but leave the address of the secretary, to whom it could
+be forwarded.  Oh, it was admirable--an admirable idea!  The afternoon's
+escapade would lead to good after all.  Nan's elastic spirits rose with
+a bound, and she smiled upon her companion with restored equanimity.
+
+"I have a special business.  I did not come merely to pay a call, but to
+ask your help for a cause in which I am much interested.  I hoped that
+you might feel inclined to give a subscription, and can assure you that
+any sum which you may decide to give--"
+
+To her dismay, the benevolent expression upon the watching face
+disappeared, as she spoke, to give place to one of suspicion and
+distrust.  Mr Vanburgh moved himself on his pillows, so as to face her
+more fully, and stared at her fixedly, beneath frowning brows.
+
+"You want a subscription!  You have come here to beg--to ask for money?"
+
+"But not for myself!" explained Nan eagerly.  The scrutiny bent upon her
+was so searching that she felt bound to protest against a personal
+interest.  "It was for a charity, a local hospital, which is in want of
+funds.  It was thought--I thought that, as a newcomer to the
+neighbourhood, you might like to hear about the various organisations,
+and to give some support.  There is a large poor population at Sale, a
+mile from here, and the committee is always short of funds.  Many of the
+old residents have left, and the new ones don't--don't always."--Her
+remembrance of odd sentences heard at committee meetings came to a
+sudden end, and the voice trailed off in inarticulate murmurings.
+
+"Do not always come forward in their place.  Just so!  And I am to
+understand that you are deputed by these various charities and
+organisations to plead their cause and collect subscriptions?"
+
+Nan cleared her throat vigorously.  It was the only way she could think
+of by which to gain time, and decide how to evade the question.
+
+"They are most grateful for all they can get.  The committee would send
+you an acknowledgment of your subscription.  It would be better to send
+it direct, instead of giving it to me.  I just wish to call your
+attention--to tell you particulars and enlist your interest--"
+
+"Just so!" said Mr Vanburgh again; and Nan fancied that there was a
+slight softening in the watching eyes.  "Just so.  And for what special
+charity do you wish to plead to-day?"
+
+"For the Home for Incurables!"
+
+"Ah!"  The word came with a hiss from between closed teeth.  "Indeed!
+You choose your object well, madam!  I congratulate you on your
+discretion.  The cause is truly fitting."
+
+She had made a false move this time, there was no doubt about it, for
+the old man's voice was sharp with displeasure; but blundering Nan could
+not even now imagine wherein lay the offence.
+
+She gaped at him, with a stammering--
+
+"Fitting!  Why fitting?  I don't understand what you mean!"
+
+"Only that being incurable myself, I need your charity every whit as
+much as those for whom you come asking help--"
+
+"Incurable!  You won't get better!  Never get better until you--"
+
+"Die?  Precisely!  That is what it means.  I shall spend my life upon
+this couch, or being wheeled about in a bath-chair, suffering torments
+of pain and weariness until death comes to set me free--the kindliest
+friend that could step inside my door!"
+
+"Oh!" cried Nan sharply.  "Oh!"  The tears rushed to her eyes, and she
+trembled from head to foot.  It was terrible to listen to those words,
+terrible to her youth and strength to hear death spoken of in those
+yearning tones; her heart--Nan's big loving heart--went out in a rush of
+sympathy towards the lonely sufferer.  She stretched her hand towards
+him, and cried brokenly, "I'm sorry!  Oh, I'm sorry!  We knew, of
+course, that you were ill, but we never thought it was as bad as that."
+
+"We!  Who are we?"  Mr Vanburgh's fingers closed over her hand, and he
+held it firmly in his own, while he gazed at her with a gentleness of
+mien before which Nan's resolution died a sudden death.
+
+"My--my sisters!" she stammered humbly.  "Oh, Mr Vanburgh, forgive me.
+I'm Nan Rendell.  I live in the house just across the road.  I'm not an
+old woman at all, only a stupid girl dressed up.  I never meant to come,
+but Chrissie dared me, and I thought I would come to the door and ring,
+to give her a fright.  I never thought you would let me in.  You had
+refused to see all other visitors.  My father and mother called, and Mr
+and Mrs Maitland--"
+
+"They did, and many others.  It was very kind, but I felt too ill to
+receive them.  With you, however, it was different, for I seemed to know
+you already.  I had seen so much of your life through `my study
+window'--"
+
+"Saw me!  Then you knew all the time who I was?  You knew--"
+
+"I did!  Yes.  It was very interesting.  I wondered how long you could
+keep it up."
+
+"But how--how?"
+
+Mr Vanburgh smiled quietly.
+
+"My couch is placed near the window, and during my long lonely days I
+devote a good deal of attention to the passers-by.  About three o'clock
+this afternoon I observed a black robed figure steal out of your side
+gate and approach the front door.  I saw her admitted by the servant.  I
+saw her go out once again, and, like her sisters, kept watch for her
+return."
+
+"And you saw Chrissie point across to your door, and heard my ring?"
+
+"I did.  And rang myself, to give orders that you should be admitted.
+That is the true and authentic account of the mystery.  It is not so
+mysterious after all, is it?"
+
+"It's very embarrassing!"  Nan was suddenly overcome by a consciousness
+of how ridiculous she must have appeared in her assumed character, and
+collapsed into feeble laughter, "What _must_ you think of me?"
+
+"To tell the truth, I prefer your ordinary appearance.  It is difficult
+to recognise you in this attire.  Would you think it a liberty if I
+asked you to resume your ordinary guise?  Please!" and he waved his hand
+with an appeal which had in it an element of authority, despite all its
+courtesy.  Nan felt very small, very much like a mischievous child who
+has spilt the ink-bottle, and is sent upstairs to be washed and tidied;
+but, all the same, she was not sorry to remove the ugly trappings, and
+appear in her true guise once more.  Bonnet, veil, spectacles, and cloak
+came off in succession; her dark hair curled in little rings round her
+forehead, and the round young throat rose like a pillar above the
+quaintly-cut bodice.  If Lilias had been in her sister's place, she
+would have reflected that her antique costume was appropriate to her
+surroundings, but such thoughts as these never occurred to honest Nan.
+She was merely concerned to see that the last remains of powder were
+wiped away, and, being satisfied on this point, smiled at Mr Vanburgh
+in friendly fashion.
+
+"That's better!" he said cheerfully.  "I begin to recognise you again.
+I have seen you only from a distance so far, but I seem to know you very
+well.  You are `Nan,' you say, and you are what--number three, I
+suppose?  The young lady who went away the other day is the elder
+sister, and after her comes the fair one with the golden locks."
+
+"Lilias!  Yes; she is the beauty of the family; I come next, and then
+Elsie, the little one, with big, dark eyes.  We call her `Mrs
+Gummidge,' because she is melancholy, and feels things `more than
+others.'  Then comes Agatha; you know Agatha! the great big girl with
+the huge feet and the rosy cheeks; and Christabel, the youngest--"
+
+"Oh yes, I know Christabel!" said Mr Vanburgh, smiling, "and her friend
+who comes to lessons every day: the brown-legged stork, with the red cap
+and the curly locks.  I like that child.  She looks honest and
+straightforward!  Who is she?"
+
+"Why, that's Kitty!" replied Nan, in a voice of surprised reproof, for
+surely every one in Waybourne must know an important personage like
+Kitty!  "Her name is really Gwendoline Maitland, but everybody calls her
+Kitty; and she was longing to know you, and made her mother come to call
+in her new spring clothes, with a promise to bring in her name at every
+turn of the conversation; and then, after all, you would not receive
+her!"
+
+"That was very sad!  I am afraid I must have appeared churlish; but, as
+a matter of fact, I came down to Waybourne to avoid old friends, rather
+than make new ones.  I am too ill to be sociable.  It is a trial to me,
+nowadays, to meet strangers."
+
+"And yet--"
+
+"And yet I wished to see you!  That seems rather a contradiction, does
+it not?  But I have always been fond of young people, and I seemed to
+have made your acquaintance in spite of myself.  Perhaps you are hardly
+aware how plainly one can see into your sitting-room from here."
+
+Nan smiled and bent forward to look across the street, in response to a
+wave of the invalid's hand.
+
+The porch-room was exactly opposite, and the three-sided windows did
+indeed allow an extraordinarily clear view of the interior.  The girls
+had always believed themselves out of range of vision when they were
+seated at the table; but at this moment Nan could distinctly discern
+four anxious faces scanning the opposite house, catch Agatha's craning
+movements, and Lilias's waving hands.  The sight provoked an
+irresistible chuckle of amusement, and Mr Vanburgh's eyes turned
+towards her in wistful scrutiny.
+
+"You seem very merry together, you young people.  Life is full of
+happiness to you!"
+
+"Oh, we have our trials!" said Nan quickly.  "We are awfully happy
+together; but still, of course, it isn't all as we should wish.  Each
+one of us has a grievance, and could talk about it for hours at a time,
+if we had a chance.  Sometimes we have dreadful fits of dumps.  Elsie
+has them chronically, but the rest of us are up and down.  I'm generally
+up myself; but still, I have my moments!"
+
+"I should think they are very rare!  Would it be indiscreet to ask what
+is your peculiar cross?"
+
+Nan pondered with raised brows and an expression which grew more and
+more uncertain.
+
+"It's rather difficult to say straight off, isn't it?  There _is_
+something, I know, but I forget what it is.  I am always making stupid
+mistakes for one thing, and that is so awkward, now that I am supposed
+to be grown up.  I'm eighteen, so I ought to know better.  I went out to
+my first dinner-party this winter, and the most awful thing happened.  A
+stupid male creature took me in, with a collar about a foot high, and
+such an affected drawl that I could hardly understand a word he said.
+However, I talked away and tried to be pleasant.  I have a habit of
+waving my hands when I talk; we all have--perhaps you have noticed it!
+I was telling a story, and came to a point where it seemed necessary to
+lift my hand suddenly, to give emphasis to what I was saying.  Well, I
+did it, and at that crucial moment if the waiter didn't go and hand a
+sauce-bowl over my partner's shoulder!  My hand met the bowl, and ...
+Maud was sitting opposite, and she said that never in all her life had
+she seen anything so appalling!  The bowl flew up in the air, turned a
+somersault, and the sauce rained down in showers upon his knees!  He had
+his serviette spread open, of course, but still it was bad enough.
+There was silence all round the table.  He sat stock still, staring at
+his hands, all brown and dripping; then he said, in a very small,
+exhausted voice, `I think I had bettaw--go up-sta-ahs!'"
+
+Mr Vanburgh lay back against his cushions and pressed his hands to his
+mouth.  His shoulders heaved, and a curious muffled sound emerged from
+his lips.  He tried to strangle it, tried to frown, to choke the
+inclination in his throat, but it was of no avail: laugh he must, and
+laugh he did, his slight form shaking with merriment, the tears rising
+in the tired eyes and streaming down his cheeks.  Nan laughed afresh at
+the comical spectacle, and as she looked a door behind the couch was
+pushed gently open, and a startled face peered round the corner.  It was
+the face of the dark-skinned foreigner who was the invalid's attendant,
+and his master greeted him with affectionate freedom.
+
+"Yes, Pedro!  Yes!  It is quite true!  I was laughing!  It is a long
+time since you have heard such a sound from my lips.  No wonder you are
+startled.  It is this young lady who has wrought the miracle."
+
+The dark eyes rested on Nan's face with a glow of gratitude which made
+the girl's heart beat fast with pleasure.  The eloquent Southern glance
+conveyed many meanings, but he said simply, "The signorina is welcome!
+I hope the signorina comes again!" and left the room in the same quiet,
+unobtrusive manner in which he had entered.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+THE CURTAINED PICTURES.
+
+When Mrs Rendell returned home and heard of Nan's latest escapade, she
+was breathless with horror and consternation.
+
+"I don't know what I am to do with you, child," she cried.  "Every time
+I go away there is a fresh outbreak, and you seem to grow worse instead
+of better.  It is useless to warn you!"
+
+"Oh, mummy dear!"  Nan's voice was full of protest, and she stared with
+reproachful eyes in her mother's face.  "It's not fair to say that!  I
+always do as you tell me.  I never do what you have forbidden.  You
+can't think of a single instance where I have played a trick the second
+time, when you have cautioned me against it!"
+
+"But what is the good of that, when you immediately hit on something
+even worse?" queried her mother despairingly.  "What sane woman would
+ever dream of forbidding a girl of eighteen to walk about the streets in
+disguise, and go begging for subscriptions at strange houses?  It takes
+away my breath, even to think of it!  All sorts of things might have
+happened!"
+
+"But only nice things did happen, dear!  I always fall on my feet, you
+know, and Mr Vanburgh is an old love.  He sent his respects to you, and
+hoped you and father would do him the favour of paying a second call, as
+he would much like to make the acquaintance of my parents!  It was the
+first time in my life that I had heard you spoken of as adjuncts of my
+noble self, and I can tell you I felt proud.  Really and truly, it was a
+blessing I went, for you can't think how he enjoyed seeing me.  I said
+good-bye three times over before he would let me go, and I told him
+every single thing about our family!"
+
+"I've no doubt you did!"  Mrs Rendell groaned aloud, and stared
+helplessly at the ceiling.  "Please add to your list of prohibitions for
+the future, my dear, that you are forbidden to go outside the door in an
+assumed costume; and do try to behave like a reasonable creature,
+instead of a hare-brained schoolboy!  I can't make any promise about
+calling again until I see what father says."
+
+Nan was comfortably secure that her father would do as he was told, and
+had little difficulty in persuading the good man that, above all things
+in the world, he desired to make the acquaintance of his neighbour.
+There was little fear that the visit would be deferred too long; for
+with five daughters vying with each other to introduce the subject on
+every possible opportunity, and to discuss times and seasons at
+breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it speedily became an object to get the
+call paid as soon as possible.
+
+On the very next Saturday afternoon, therefore, Mrs Rendell attired
+herself in calling array, was carefully surveyed by a critical audience,
+pronounced to be a "credit to the family," and despatched to the Grange,
+with a score of divergent instructions as to what to do, what to say,
+and, above all, how to lay the foundation-stone of a future intimacy.
+
+Perhaps, if the truth were known, Mrs Rendell was scarcely less excited
+than her daughters at the prospect of being admitted into the presence
+of the mysterious stranger; but if this were so, she was doomed to
+disappointment, for the invalid seemed too weary and dispirited to enter
+into conversation, and it was only by a most apparent effort that he
+roused himself to reply to her remarks.  Mrs Rendell would have felt
+repelled by his coldness of manner, had it not been for one redeeming
+point--his unaffected interest in her children!  The wan face brightened
+into a smile at the mention of Nan's name, and he begged that the girl
+might be allowed to come over to see him "often--as often as possible,"
+in a tone of unmistakable sincerity.  Mrs Rendell assented graciously;
+and, mindful of the reproaches which would be hurled at her head if she
+returned without doing her best for every member of the family,
+suggested that perhaps Mr Vanburgh would like to make the acquaintance
+of the other girls also!  He hesitated for a moment, but looked
+gratified by the suggestion.
+
+"If they would not find it too dull.  I am fond of young people, but am
+always afraid of boring them by my company.  Our lives lie so far apart.
+Perhaps they would come over at different times, and let me make their
+acquaintance by degrees.  The two younger ones especially--your own
+daughter and the little girl who is her friend."
+
+On the score of this distinction, Christabel and Kitty were the first
+couple to take advantage of the invitation and cross the road to
+interview Diogenes in his den.  They confided in each other that they
+were "simply dying of fright," but contrived to conceal their expiring
+condition beneath haughty and dignified exteriors.  The manner in which
+Chrissie requested the old butler to inform his master of their advent
+would have done credit to a princess of the blood, while Kitty stalked
+upstairs behind her with majestic gravity.  Outside the dreaded door,
+however, it was impossible to resist exchanging a grimace of agitation,
+and it was another instance of the contrariety of men that the butler
+should turn his head at that inopportune moment, and discover them so
+employed.  Chrissie grew red with mortification, and Kitty spluttered
+with laughter; so, after all, it was in the guise of two blushing,
+giggling schoolgirls that they made Mr Vanburgh's acquaintance, instead
+of that of self-possessed women of the world, as they had fondly hoped
+would be the case.  He looked from one to the other as they sat before
+him--big, bonnie, well-grown girls, with flaming locks and fresh
+complexions, and there was a great wistfulness in his gaze.  The girls
+felt it; and though the meaning thereof was a mystery, they understood
+that here was an understanding, sympathetic soul, and immediately lost
+their feeling of shyness.
+
+In ten minutes' time they had confided to him their dream of the "Select
+Academy," and he had promised to recommend the school to his friends,
+with a seriousness which was balm to their vanity.  Nothing is more
+annoying to mature women of fourteen than to be treated as if they were
+children; and when Mr Vanburgh discussed at length various points of
+management on which the future partners were at variance, and gave
+valuable suggestions on architectural designs, Christabel screwed up her
+eyes at him with her most approving smile, and reflected that seldom, if
+ever, had she met a grown-up person with so much common sense!  Tea was
+brought in for the girls' benefit, and Kitty poured it out, spilling the
+milk over the cloth, and covering the wet spot with the muffin dish with
+admirable presence of mind.  She felt so much at home that she helped
+herself to cake a second time without being asked, drank three cups of
+tea, and only refrained from a fourth because the pot was drained.
+After tea, conversation turned on hobbies, and it being discovered that
+one girl had a mania for miniature jugs, and the other for foreign post-
+cards, the Italian servant was summoned, and received instructions in
+his own tongue, which resulted in an addition being made to each
+collection: Kitty returned home hugging "a little d-arling" jug of
+Italian pottery, while Chrissie exhibited a Chinese post-card, and
+pictures of Mongolian belles printed on transparent rice paper.  The
+glories of the interview lost nothing from their descriptions; and
+Lilias and Elsie sighed continuously until the time came for their own
+visit.
+
+In each heart the thought lay concealed that if Mr Vanburgh had been so
+kind to the other girls, he must of a surety extend a still greater
+favour to herself.  The mirror assured Lilias that she was a sight to
+"make an old man young"; while Elsie shook her head over the reflection
+that only those who have suffered themselves can sympathise with the
+woes of others.  But, alas! disappointment awaited them; for, strange to
+relate, the invalid found Lilias's fragile charms less attractive to his
+eye than the healthful vivacity of her sisters; while condolence was so
+distasteful to his ears, that he fairly scowled down Elsie's plaintive
+assurances of sympathy.  As a matter of fact, it was brightness and
+amusement of which the recluse was in need; and as the last visitors
+were the least humorous members of the family, it followed that their
+presence was least welcome.  Awkward silence recurred at intervals; and
+when the girls rose to say good-bye, no request was made for a further
+visit, though a message was sent to Nan, begging her to come by herself
+on the first convenient occasion.  Elsie made a public announcement in
+the schoolroom that evening that she washed her hands of Mr Vanburgh,
+finding in him a cold and unresponsive soul; but Lilias was not so
+easily discouraged.  It rankled in her mind that she had failed where
+others had succeeded, and she determined to break down Mr Vanburgh's
+prejudice and win the post of favourite, cost what it might.  She had
+not had a fair chance when Elsie was present.  The members of one's own
+family are apt to betray surprise at injudicious moments, to check one's
+innocent rhapsodies by counter-assertions, and even to quote words used
+on previous occasions, as a proof that conduct does not coincide with
+theory.  There were a dozen pretty little speeches she had been longing
+to make, but it was impossible to deliver them when Elsie was sitting
+there, listening with all her ears, ready to repeat them to a schoolroom
+audience, or even commit them to the surer testimony of her diary.  Some
+day she would make excuse to go alone, and then--!  Lilias nodded her
+head in assured self-confidence, and watched Nan's air of proprietorship
+with a smile, convinced that her own triumph was at hand.  She was
+beginning to realise that a declared understanding was less exciting
+than an incipient love affair; the thirst for fresh conquest was upon
+her, and in default of any more interesting prey, she determined to turn
+her attention to Mr Vanburgh, and raked her silly little head to devise
+schemes for subjection.
+
+Honest Nan had no scheme at all, nothing but the kindliest desire to
+cheer a lonely old man, and was so entirely her bright merry self at the
+second interview, that again, and yet again, the sound of laughter broke
+the silence of the room.  She discovered that the old man had a keen
+sense of humour, though it had long lain dormant; and as it seemed to
+please him to hear her chat away in unconstrained fashion, chat she did,
+with such an accompaniment of sparkling eyes, waving hands, and sunny
+smiles, as was a positive tonic to behold.  She told stories of her own
+adventures or misadventures, which Mr Vanburgh capped by remembrances
+of his own boyhood; they compared notes as to their mutual sensations at
+critical moments, and so sympathetic did they appear, that the girl was
+forced into an expression of astonishment.
+
+"You remember so well!  Most old people seem to forget how it feels to
+be young, especially people who have not had any children of their own.
+How have you managed to remember all these things?"
+
+The old man looked at her quietly.  The smile left his face, and the
+lines round his lips and eyes seemed to deepen in sudden, mysterious
+fashion.  Nan divined that she had touched a hidden wound, and waited
+anxiously for his reply.  It was a long time in coming, and then it was
+altogether a surprise.  Mr Vanburgh touched the bell which lay near at
+hand, and spoke a word of direction to the Italian, who appeared at the
+summons.
+
+"Take this young lady into the study and show her--my pictures!" he said
+slowly; and Nan followed Pedro out of the room in perplexity of spirit.
+The man's dark eyes studied her face critically, but no words were said
+until the room was reached, and they stood together before a curtained
+alcove.
+
+"It is his sorrow, the sorrow of his life," murmured the soft voice
+plaintively, as the curtain was drawn back, and Nan gazed with awed eyes
+upon four portraits hung against a fluting of crimson cloth.  The rich
+frames, the carved table beneath, with its bank of white flowers, gave
+the alcove the appearance of a shrine; and a shrine it was indeed,
+dedicated to the memory of a lost happiness.
+
+The first portrait was of a man, the second of a woman, with a beautiful
+and gentle face, which bore so strange a likeness to those of a boy and
+a girl on either side that it was easy to trace the relationship between
+them.
+
+The girl bade fair to become as lovely as her mother; the boy was a
+magnificent fellow, with waving locks, thrown back from a noble brow,
+and such an air of pride and candour in the carriage of the head and the
+flash of the eyes as would have filled a parent's heart with pride to
+behold.  Nan's eyes passed by the other two portraits to dwell on this
+with wondering admiration; and something in the appearance of the
+beautiful young lad seemed strangely familiar.  Family likeness is a
+marvellous thing, revealing itself in the most unexpected fashions; and
+though at first sight no two people could have been more unlike than
+this incarnation of youth and strength, and the bleached and weary
+invalid in the next room, it was certainly of Mr Vanburgh, and no
+other, that Nan was reminded at this moment.  The shape of the eyes was
+the same, the curve of the lips, the growth of the hair on the forehead.
+She looked back at the first picture, and gave a start of recognition.
+She had not realised it at first, but yes! that handsome, happy, self-
+confident face had once belonged to Mr Vanburgh himself; it was his own
+portrait at which she looked.  Nan wheeled round to the servant with an
+agitated question:
+
+"It is himself!  But why is he here?  They are dead, these others, but
+he--"
+
+"He also is dead, signorina," the man replied, and bent his head as if
+in obeisance before the picture.  "He died with those he loved.
+Something lived on, perhaps, but not my master.  He lies buried with
+them--his wife--his son--his daughter.  All that he had.  Ah, what a
+tragedy!  One day all happiness and love; the next it is done, it is
+over, his heart is broken!  We were out yachting together, and my master
+and I have gone on shore on business--to make purchases, to buy
+provisions.  We should join them again next day; and meantime they went
+a little cruise to pass the time--an excursion to a bay which the
+signora wished to visit.  It was all calm when they started, but those
+are treacherous seas; a squall sprang up, and they were driven on the
+rocks.  The gale lasted two days, and at the end pieces of wood were
+washed ashore from the wreck.  There was nothing else--no, nothing!  We
+were like madmen both, searching about, and waiting, always waiting,
+year after year. ...  They might have been picked up, and landed at some
+far-away port; they might for a time have lost their minds and been
+unable to remember.  Such things have been; and why not again?  But at
+last hope died away, and strength with it.  He took no rest, no care for
+himself, and so the illness came which ends as you see.  Then I took him
+away, for the living must come before the dead, and I had my duty to him
+to remember.  We have wandered over the world, signorina, in search of
+health and peace, but they come not with money.  Everything else,"--he
+waved his hand round the exquisite room, with its paintings, its
+carvings, its china, its treasures of ancient art--"everything else, but
+not these.  So at last we came home, to rest--and die!"
+
+Nan trembled and was silent.  She had no words in which to express her
+passion of pity, but the Italian understood, with the quick insight of
+his race, and flashed a grateful glance upon her.
+
+"It is not every one to whom he shows these pictures.  They are covered
+with a curtain, so that they are hidden from the stranger; but every
+morning we come together, he and I, and put fresh flowers.  It is a
+great sign of his favour to the signorina that he should have sent her
+here.  He has opened his heart to her as is not usual with him, and she
+can help him if she will."
+
+"Oh, I will!  I will!  I long to help him," murmured Nan brokenly.  She
+stood gazing at the pictures until the curtain dropped once more, and
+she found herself being escorted back to her seat.
+
+Mr Vanburgh looked at her silently.  It was not possible for him to be
+whiter than usual, but his lips were contracted in a nervous pressure,
+and a nerve was throbbing visibly at his temples.  Nan stretched out her
+hand impetuously and laid it over his; the fingers were icy cold to her
+touch, and she rubbed them between her own with tender care.
+
+"Thank you!" he whispered breathlessly, and looked at her with kindly
+eyes.
+
+"You are a wise child.  You understand how to console.  Words are too
+weak.  You judged too quickly, you see, in taking for granted that I had
+always been alone.  Fifteen years ago--you saw their portraits?"
+
+"Yes.  They are all beautiful; and oh, the boy!"
+
+"My son!" sighed the father softly.  "Yes, if you could have seen my
+son.  It was not only I, but every one who met him said the same thing:
+that they had never seen his equal.  All that I did was for him, to
+prepare for the time when he should succeed me.  He was so strong, so
+full of life; it seemed impossible that he could die."
+
+"Mr Vanburgh, how did you bear it?  How can people go through such
+trials and live?  To lose everything at once, and live on, and keep
+one's reason--I can't understand it.  You must be very good!"
+
+The old man smiled sadly.
+
+"No, child, I am not good.  I had my time of madness and rebellion, and
+my old self died, never to revive again; but I have kept my faith in
+God.  I could not afford to lose that, as well as everything else.  He
+has taken from me all that made life beautiful--first my dear ones, and
+then the strength which might have made it possible to find fresh
+interests; but such discipline must be for some great end, and I am
+growing nearer and nearer to the time when I shall know the reason.
+There is an explanation ready for me, and I am waiting to hear it.  You
+will never have a trouble sent to you in life, child, without the
+strength to bear it; and the greater the trial the greater may be the
+reward.  Even in this life I have had compensations; when the sun of
+prosperity is shining we do not realise our need of God, but when the
+clouds gather, we turn homewards like tired children, and the help never
+fails.  In my loneliness I have learned to know Christ, and the peace
+which is His gift to those who trust Him!"
+
+He shut his eyes and remained silent for a long time, while Nan studied
+the emaciated face with anxious gaze; but when he looked up again he was
+calm and collected, almost smiling.
+
+"My little friend, I have shown you my Holy of Holies, but we will never
+speak of it again.  You know my sorrow, and we will understand each
+other without words.  I have learned to be thankful for the unexpected
+blessings which come into my life, of which your companionship is one.
+You will always be welcome when you can spare an hour to sit with a
+lonely old man; and I am glad to have made the acquaintance of some
+young people for another reason.  My nephew, my heir,"--he drew his
+brows together with a frown of pain,--"is coming next month to pay me a
+visit.  He will be with me for some time, and if you will be kind enough
+to extend your friendship to him I shall be grateful!"
+
+"We will!  We will!  But oh, I wish he were a girl!  Are you sure you
+have no girl nieces that you want to invite as well?"
+
+"More girls?"  Mr Vanburgh smiled faintly.  "I should have thought you
+had enough, with five sisters of your own.  A boy would surely be more
+change, though, as far as that, Gervase is more than a boy now.  It is
+three years since he left Oxford, and he is quite a man of the world by
+this time."
+
+Nan groaned deeply.
+
+"I know them!  I know them well, and I detest them!  Really old men are
+quite sensible and humble, but the young ones put on as many airs as if
+they owned the world, and didn't think much of it at that.  I like
+schoolboys immensely--mischievous, grubby little schoolboys, who keep
+white mice in their bedrooms, and are full of pranks and jokes; but no
+young men for me, thank you!  Jim, our brother, is the only really nice
+one I know, and even he thinks that the world was made for his
+convenience.  No one dares to contradict him; and it is the most
+maddening thing in the world to argue with him, for he never even takes
+the trouble to answer, but simply chuckles in condescending fashion, and
+chucks you under the chin.  We know another very nice man, too--Ned
+Talbot; but for a clever man who has taken degrees and scholarships and
+appointments above everybody else, you wouldn't believe how stupid and
+blundering he is.  As blind as a bat.  He--but never mind!  I didn't
+mean to speak about him, only to say that if your nephew is coming down
+at all, do have him in June instead of next month!  Jim is coming home
+then, and Ned will be here, and we have all sorts of plans in the air.
+It would be nicer for him when there would be some men to take him
+about, and he would have a really good time.  Don't you think he could
+come in June?"
+
+"He could probably arrange to stay on a little longer.  He will be with
+me for some considerable time, as there is a great deal of business
+which we must do together.  I will tell him what you say when I write,
+and impress upon him that June is a period of special attraction!"
+
+"And then he will be at our sale!" said Nan gleefully to herself; and
+the same thought occurred to each of her sisters, when this latest piece
+of news was unfolded.
+
+"How lovely!" gushed Agatha.  "Now he can buy my shaving-case!  Father
+said it was a useless bauble; but a rich young man can afford baubles,
+and I feel sure he would like the look of it upon his dressing-table.
+I'll mark it `Sold,' and say I kept it specially for him."
+
+"I don't believe he will come at all.  Men detest bazaars; but if he
+does, we must make him buy far more than that," said Elsie firmly.  "If
+we can't sell that veil-case, we will pretend it is for ties, and that
+no gentleman's wardrobe is complete without it.  And we'll raise all the
+prices whenever he comes near!"
+
+"I don't suppose he'll eat toffee, but he must hand round the tea and
+make himself useful.  We can keep him busy at our stall," said Chrissie;
+while Lilias stared into space, and smiled in a soft, dreamy fashion.
+"After all," she said thoughtfully, "after all, I think he had better
+help me, instead of Ned!  Ned knows quite a number of the people, and
+could make himself agreeable going about and talking; but this poor
+fellow will know nobody but us.  Yes! yes! he shall be my assistant in
+the punt!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+A BUDGET OF LETTERS.
+
+One bright May morning Mrs Rendell sat by her desk ostensibly busy with
+accounts, but in reality watching the movements of her daughter Lilias,
+who lounged on the window seat reading the letters which had just been
+delivered by the second post.  Mrs Rendell herself had brought these
+letters into the room, and consequently knew full well who were her
+daughter's correspondents, and which envelope contained the separate
+effusions.  The dainty grey, with its edging of white, came from
+Lilias's bosom friend, a certain Ella Duckworth, whose sayings and
+doings were so constantly quoted in the schoolroom that her very name
+had become the signal for groans of disapproval; the fat white packet
+bore the magic name of the _Bon Marche_, Paris, and contained patterns
+of material for the frock in which Lilias intended to array herself at
+the garden parties of the coming season; and the narrow envelope, with
+its bold, even writing, was a familiar object in the Rendell household,
+whose authorship required no explanation.
+
+Mrs Rendell handed this letter to her daughter with a smiling
+remembrance of the days when such letters used to come to herself--of
+her eagerness and delight, her insatiable appetite for more.  As she
+added up her weekly bills and balanced her accounts, soft little trills
+of laughter greeted her ears from the other end of the room, and she
+smiled again in enjoyment of her child's happiness, and lifted her head
+to regard the pretty picture.  The sun shone on Lilias's fair head,
+transforming it into an aureole of gold; pink and white were the colours
+of her morning dress, pink and white was her face, and the blossom on
+the hawthorn tree which shaded the window seemed made on purpose to form
+a background to the charming figure.  Mrs Rendell's eyes softened with
+motherly pride; but the next moment her brows contracted and her
+expression grew troubled, for there on the seat lay Ned Talbot's letter
+unopened, while Lilias smiled and dimpled in enjoyment of her friend's
+effusion.  It seemed strange that a girl should show so little eagerness
+to read a lover's letter; but Mrs Rendell reflected that perhaps Lilias
+preferred to leave the greater treat to the last, and comforted herself
+thereby.  When Ella's letter had been read, then of course Ned's would
+be even more eagerly devoured; but no!  Lilias regretfully folded away
+the sheet in its envelope, regarded the two unopened envelopes with
+languid indecision, and finally selected the packet from Paris as more
+worthy of attention.  If she had looked up at that _moment_ and caught
+the flash in the watching eyes, Miss Lilias would have been on her
+guard; but, as it was, she complacently settled herself to the study of
+patterns, holding up the little squares of gauze to the light, laying
+them against her dress, and pleating them in her fingers with an
+absorption which rendered her unconscious of her surroundings.  Five
+minutes passed, ten minutes, and still she turned from one novelty to
+another, unable to make a choice among so many temptations; and still
+her mother watched from her corner, the pencil stayed in her busy hands.
+The irritation had faded from Mrs Rendell's face, and given place to
+an expression of anxious tenderness; for Lilias's indifference to Ned's
+letter was but another strengthening of the growing conviction that the
+girl's feeling for her lover fell short of what it should rightly be.  A
+dozen signs, too subtle to be put into words, but none the less
+eloquent, had attracted Mrs Rendell's attention within the last few
+weeks, and sent a chill to her heart.  Above all things it was
+imperative that Lilias should love her future husband with all the
+strength of which she was capable, for Lilias's mother knew that no
+other power but love could develop a selfish nature, and make a noble
+woman out of a vain and thoughtless girl.  Love has wrought this miracle
+before, and will again; and through all her grief for Maud's
+disappointment, Mrs Rendell had comforted herself by the reflection
+that Lilias was the one of all her children who was most in need of a
+softening influence, the one to whom the love of a good man might be
+most valuable.  Dear, sweet Maud could not be selfish if she tried, but
+an early engagement might be the only means of saving Lilias from the
+injurious effect of flattering and worldly friends.  So the mother had
+reasoned with herself; but her arguments would lose all their force if
+Lilias herself had no love in her heart for her future husband.  A
+loveless marriage is a catastrophe for any girl, but for Lilias it would
+mean moral suicide: a deliberate settling down into a selfish, self-
+seeking life!  Was it possible that she had accepted Ned for no higher
+motive than a love of excitement, and the puny triumph of making the
+first marriage in the family?  Mrs Rendell would not judge the girl so
+harshly without unmistakable proof, but, her suspicions being aroused,
+she could not be content until she grasped the true position of affairs.
+A broken engagement was the last thing which she desired to have in her
+family, but better that, a thousand times over, than that two lives
+should be wrecked for ever!
+
+She waited patiently until, at last, Lilias deigned to read her lover's
+letter, watching her face with scrutinising eyes.  It was evident that
+something in the closely-written sheet did not commend itself to the
+girl's approval; for as she read the white forehead grew fretted with
+lines, and the lips took a sullen droop.  The smiles faded away, and it
+was a very blank, dejected edition of Miss Lilias Rendell who looked up
+at last, to meet her mother's glance.
+
+"Well, what is it, dear?  You seem troubled.  No bad news, I hope?"
+
+"Oh no--nothing serious, at least.  Ned seems worried.  Things don't go
+smoothly in the new Works, and he has such high-flown ideas.  It seems
+to me he makes troubles, by expecting every one else to be as quixotic
+as himself.  He is not likely to find high-flown notions among ordinary
+business men!"
+
+"And since when, my dear, have you become acquainted with the feelings
+of business men?" inquired Mrs Rendell sharply; then, in a softer tone,
+"My dear child, I implore you not to begin your engagement to Ned by
+discouraging his highest motives.  Men, as a rule, are not overburdened
+with sentiment, and it is the duty of a wife to encourage all that is
+good and generous.  You would be grieved, I am sure, to feel that your
+influence had a sordid or worldly direction!"
+
+"Oh, mother!" protested Lilias, shocked beyond words at the possibility
+of such a charge, as we are all shocked when our secret thoughts are put
+into words, and we see them before us in all their naked hideousness.
+"Oh, mother, as if I could do anything so dreadful.  Ned says I am his
+good angel; of course, of course, I want him to be good; but it is
+depressing, isn't it, when as soon as one gets engaged business begins
+to go wrong, and every letter brings news of some fresh worry or
+unpleasantness?  It is enough to make one feel melancholy!"
+
+"Yes, dear, it is, and I'm sorry for you.  It is a disappointment to us
+all to hear that Ned is so unhappy in his new position, for it seemed to
+promise so well six months ago.  Father is anxious to have a talk with
+him on the subject, and see if he can help to smooth the way, so the
+sooner he can come the better it will be.  Does he make any suggestion
+in his letter as to the date that will suit him best?"
+
+"Y-es!" said Lilias; and her face clouded once more.  "He wants to come
+on the twentieth; and it is so awkward, for the Duckworths want me to go
+to them for that very week.  They are having a tennis party, and their
+first day on the river, and several teas and dinners.  It would be such
+a delightful week!  I thought, perhaps, Ned might put off his visit
+until June.  Maud would be home by that time, and they would both be
+sorry to miss each other if he came earlier."
+
+Mrs Rendell looked at her with a mingling of exasperation and relief--
+relief that she should be so ignorant of Maud's feelings, exasperation
+that it should be possible for one sister to be so oblivious to the
+sufferings of another.  She could not but realise also that Lilias would
+prefer a week of gaiety at Richmond to a visit from Ned Talbot; and her
+distress at the thought made her voice sound somewhat sharp as she
+replied--
+
+"There is some one else to be considered besides yourself, my dear.  You
+forget that your father and I would prefer to see Ned at once, and would
+not approve of postponing his visit.  It is you, and not Maud, whom he
+comes to see; and you would surely not choose to spend the time in
+frivolity which might be given to helping and comforting the man you
+have promised to marry?"
+
+"No--no, of course not, mother!" cried Lilias, shocked once more at the
+suggestion of her own selfishness.  "I'll write at once, and say that
+the twentieth will suit us all."  She gathered her letters together as
+she spoke, and rose to leave the room, holding her head well in the air,
+and keeping up an appearance of composure so long as she was in her
+mother's sight, but once outside the door the tears of disappointment
+rushed to her eyes, and she brought down her foot on the floor with a
+stamp of irritation.  She felt jarred and disappointed, and thoroughly
+ill-used into the bargain.  Only two months engaged, and already
+involved in trouble and anxiety, and expected to give up her own
+pleasure in order to condole with a dejected lover!  She had imagined
+that it would be Ned's place to console her; and if his fears should
+prove well founded, surely it would be she who needed consolation in the
+prospect of a long, uncertain engagement.  Lilias had known one or two
+girls who had waited year after year while their _fiances_ struggled
+against adverse circumstances, and she was by no means anxious to follow
+their example.  They lost their beauty, and grew thin and pale; people
+spoke of them with expressions of commiseration; the subject of marriage
+was studiously avoided in their presence.  Lilias grew hot at the
+thought that any one might possibly regard her in such a fashion.  When
+she had become engaged to Ned Talbot, the future had appeared _couleur
+de rose_, and she had sunned herself in the prospect of increased
+importance at home, and the honour which would be paid to the beautiful
+young bride by her husband's friends and relatives.  How miserable, how
+humiliating, if all these dreams came to naught, and she found herself
+bound to an unsuccessful man, with all her ambitions nipped in the bud!
+
+Lilias's thoughts roamed back over the past, and a dull resentment
+against her _fiance_ grew in her mind; for did it not seem that he had
+always been unlucky, that the brief space of prosperity that had
+preceded her engagement had been the exception, not the rule, in his
+experiences?  Old Mr Talbot had died while Ned was still at college,
+and the necessity of looking after the business for the benefit of the
+family had compelled the young fellow to sacrifice his own hopes of a
+profession, and settle down to a commercial life.  Mr Talbot had owned
+"Works" of some kind; Lilias had the haziest idea of their purport.  Ned
+manufactured "engines and things," she told her friends vaguely, and
+spent his days amidst clanking machinery, in an atmosphere impregnated
+with steam and oil.  A dozen years before, "the Works" had been a
+profitable concern, but it had steadily declined in value, as more
+powerful firms monopolised the trade.  Ned had struggled hard against
+the tide, but his term of management had been far from prosperous, and
+when, a year ago, his most formidable rival had come forward with an
+offer to take over the smaller firm, and instal him in the position of
+manager over the united businesses, he had been thankful to accept, and
+to believe that his anxieties were at an end.  Six months--scarcely six
+months--and already he was beginning to feel uneasy, to suspect trouble
+ahead!  Lilias tightened her lips, and her eyes gave out an impatient
+flash.  It requires a noble nature to preserve unswerving confidence in
+a man through a period of reverse, and Lilias was not capable of the
+effort.  It seemed to her that such a want of success must surely be
+Ned's own fault, and something startlingly like dislike sprang up in her
+heart, as she realised how closely she herself would be involved in his
+failure.  Her mother had declared that it was her duty to encourage Ned
+in his quixotic scruples; but surely, surely, it was also Ned's duty to
+consider her interests, and to be ready to sacrifice his scruples, if
+they threatened injury to the future which she had agreed to share!
+
+Lilias was as angry as it was in her nature to be, but her love of
+approval made her unwilling to exhibit herself in so unamiable a mood,
+and she rushed upstairs to the porch room to recover her composure
+before joining her sisters in the garden.  The worst of belonging to a
+large family, however, is that it is exceedingly difficult to secure
+privacy, and, as fate would have it, who should be seated in the porch
+room but Nan herself, the very last member of the household whom Lilias
+would have wished to meet in the circumstances.  Her flushed face and
+tearful eyes could not escape attention, but while Maud would have been
+tactfully silent, Elsie sympathetic, Agatha gushing, and Christabel
+apparently unconscious, Nan must needs stare with all her eyes, whistle
+like a schoolboy, and exclaim inelegantly--
+
+"Halloa!  What's up?  What in the world are you in a rage about now?"
+
+"Now," indeed!  As if she were in the habit of flying into rages every
+ten minutes of the day!  As if it were not universally acknowledged that
+she had the sweetest temper in the family!  Lilias felt more irritated
+than ever, and would have enjoyed nothing so much as taking the big
+blundering creature by the shoulders and giving her a good shaking.  She
+controlled herself, however, and answered with a gallant attempt at
+pathos--
+
+"Rage is hardly the word, Nan.  I am very, very miserable.  You don't
+understand, and I am not at liberty to explain the reason.  I am in
+trouble--horrible trouble!"
+
+"Humph!" quoth Nan sceptically.  "Doesn't seem to have a chastening
+effect upon you.  It affects us all differently, I suppose.  I should
+have said you were in a savage rage, if you'd asked me!"
+
+"But I didn't ask you, you see, and it is very wrong of you to judge.
+If I could tell you the truth, you would realise your mistake, but I
+must keep my own counsel."
+
+"Of course, of course!  Don't tell me, I beseech you; I can't keep a
+secret if I'm paid for it," said Nan calmly, and with an absence of
+curiosity altogether maddening to the listener.  There was nothing
+Lilias wanted more than to be coaxed to tell her trouble and pose as a
+suffering martyr, for her sister's benefit.  She flounced out of the
+room in high dudgeon, and Nan stopped her work and looked after her with
+thoughtful eyes.
+
+"This is the beginning," she said tragically to herself--"the beginning
+of the end!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+NED IN TROUBLE.
+
+When Ned Talbot arrived a fortnight later, his face showed that his
+anxiety had been no imaginary thing.  He looked, indeed, so worn and
+aged, that his friends were shocked to see him, and tears of
+commiseration rose in Lilias's pretty eyes.  The consciousness that Ned
+looked to her for consolation roused a natural womanly tenderness in her
+heart, and nothing could have been sweeter than her behaviour on the day
+of his arrival.  As for Ned himself, fresh from the grim northern town,
+with the everlasting clang of machinery sounding in his ears, it seemed
+a very foretaste of paradise to find himself in the fragrant southern
+garden, seated beneath the shade of the trees, with Lilias's lovely face
+smiling upon him.  He told her as much in lover-like fashion, and she
+protested modestly, and smiled more angelically than ever for the rest
+of the evening, in order to live up to her reputation.
+
+"We won't talk about disagreeable things to-night!  We will just be
+happy!" she said coaxingly; and Ned assented, only too thankful to
+banish anxiety for a few hours, and to talk sweet nothings among the
+flowers.  Lilias was the most delightful plaything in the world, and
+queened it over him with such amusing little airs of sovereignty, that
+he asked nothing better than to play the part of adoring slave.  So the
+first evening passed happily enough; but the next day brought the lovers
+face to face with reality.  When a great anxiety is tugging at a man's
+heart, it is not possible to banish it for more than a few hours at a
+time, and Ned yearned for his sweetheart's sympathy, and felt a
+corresponding chilling of heart when she persistently checked his
+confidences, and tried to continue the playful banter of the first
+interview.  He could not respond, could not laugh and jest and pay
+compliments; the cloud of coming disaster seemed to blot out the
+sunshine, and the light words jarred upon his ears.
+
+"It is no use, dear; I am sorry to be such a doleful companion, but I
+cannot pretend to be cheerful.  You must bear with me, for my anxiety is
+on your account even more than my own," he told the girl tenderly.  "I
+cannot bear to think of bringing anxiety upon you, when I had hoped
+instead to have shielded you from it all your life; but trouble is said
+to draw hearts more closely together, and if we stand shoulder to
+shoulder now we may find unexpected sweetness in the midst of our
+trial."
+
+He looked at Lilias entreatingly, and she gave a forced little smile.
+
+"I should like to know exactly what the trial is, Ned.  You have said a
+good deal about being unhappy in your letters, but nothing really
+definite.  I can understand that, after being your own master, it is
+trying to accept a subordinate position, and that many little things jar
+and fret you, just because it is a new thing to be under subjection.  It
+is certain to be trying at first, but if you have patience--"
+
+Ned stopped her with an exclamation, half amused, half irritated.
+
+"Patience--patience!  My dear girl, you don't understand of what you are
+talking!  You surely don't imagine that it is about my own dignity that
+I am anxious!  I should not allow any personal slight to disturb my
+equanimity, for I did not make this change without counting the cost."
+
+"But it is so different when it comes to the test.  However brave you
+have resolved to be, you cannot help being annoyed and fretted.  I know!
+Oh, I know quite well," declared Lilias, with an elaborate forbearance
+which seemed to have an irritating effect upon the hearer.  He drew in
+his lips, as if struggling against a hasty reply, and when he spoke it
+was in a tone of studied moderation.
+
+"Come and sit down, dear, and let me thrash this out!  It is your right
+to know exactly how matters stand, and I will try to explain them to
+you.  What affects me affects you now, so I look to you to advise and
+counsel.  No one can help me as you can; no one has so much right to
+speak; so let me begin at the beginning, and try to make all clear to
+your dear little mind.  You know that at my father's death I had to give
+up my own dream of going into a profession, in order to carry on the
+Works for the benefit of the family.  It had been decided that Frank,
+the second boy, should take this place, but he was still a youngster,
+and could not then have taken so responsible a post.  It was a blow to
+me, for it was anything but the sphere which I should have chosen, and
+it was hard to have to give up all my own dreams--"
+
+"It must have been!  I can sympathise with you, for I know the feeling.
+Nothing tries me more than to have my plans upset, and it is constantly
+happening in a house like this, where there are so many others to
+consider.  And it must have been bad for the business too, for you knew
+nothing about it, and had no experience--"
+
+Ned coloured, and made an uneasy movement with his shoulders.  As a
+matter of fact, his early days of authority had been accompanied by
+mistakes which he had been glad to forget, though he had mastered the
+details of the business in a surprisingly short space of time.  It was
+not pleasant to hear a reminder of his inexperience from the lips of his
+_fiancee_, and he could not stifle a reflection that it would have been
+kinder on her part to have spared him even so covert a reproach.  He
+tried to hide all signs of annoyance, but there was an edge in his voice
+as he replied--
+
+"I was inexperienced, no doubt, though perhaps not so much so as you
+imagine.  All my life I had been accustomed to spend a great deal of
+time at the Works, and as I grew up my father had taken me into his
+confidence about his growing anxieties, for even in his days he was
+beginning to feel the strain of competing with the bigger firms.  The
+day for small men is over, Lilias, and one by one the private
+manufacturers go under, ruined by the struggle to compete with the great
+firms who are backed by practically unlimited capital.  It was a dying
+cause which I had to fight, and I became more and more convinced of the
+folly of holding on until everything was lost; and then, in the very
+nick of time, as it seemed, our most powerful rivals stepped forward and
+offered to take over our business and to give me the post of manager.
+There could be no doubt about accepting such an offer, and all my
+friends rejoiced with me in the belief that the lean days were over, and
+that a long lease of prosperity lay ahead."
+
+"But why did they make you such an offer when your business was so bad
+as you say?  I can understand that it was a capital thing for you, but
+where did they come in?  They must have had an idea that it was for
+their advantage as well as for yours, or they would not have tried to
+get you," said Lilias, with a shrewdness that brought the smiles back to
+her lover's face.
+
+"Why, what a cute little woman!" he cried fondly.  "She grasps the
+position at once!  Yes, of course, they made the offer for their own
+advantage, not mine, for, you see, dear, there were a certain number of
+good old-fashioned customers who still kept to us, and their business
+was well worth having, though not valuable enough to make our Works pay
+when the smaller orders dropped off.  By taking over our connection they
+made a considerable addition to their profits, even allowing for the
+handsome salary given to me.  Looking at the offer from a business point
+of view, I saw no reason to doubt its good faith, but six months'
+experience has raised some ugly doubts.  More than once of late I have
+felt convinced--"
+
+"Of what?  What are your doubts?  What do you believe they mean to do?"
+
+Ned jumped to his feet, and stood facing the girl, with clenched hands
+and a face convulsed with emotion.  His eyes flashed, the veins stood
+out upon his forehead.
+
+"I believe that they mean to suck my brains,--to get all they can out of
+me,--experience, introductions, connections, to suck me dry as they
+would an orange, and then throw me on one side!  I believe that the
+salary was a bait to bribe me to give up my independence, and that it
+did not matter to them that it was unusually large, since at the very
+moment of offering it they had determined that my lease of office should
+be of precious short duration.  They cannot, for shame's sake, for their
+own reputation's sake, dismiss me already, but in a hundred ways they
+are bringing pressure to bear; in a hundred ways which you could not
+understand, they are making it impossible for me to go on,--forcing me
+into resignation--"
+
+"Oh, hush, hush!  Don't get excited.  You frighten me when you are so
+fierce.  I am sure you are mistaken.  You are worn out after all these
+years of anxiety, and imagine what is not true.  I am sure they do not
+want to get rid of you; and if they did, what does it matter, since you
+say yourself they dare not dismiss you?  Come, be a good boy, and be
+happy with me, and forget all about this horrid old business.  All men
+have worries, but they should try to forget them when they come home!  I
+give you full notice that I shall forbid business to be mentioned in our
+house when we get one."
+
+The glance which accompanied these words was meant to be irresistibly
+coaxing; but, so far from being sobered yet, Ned seemed goaded into
+fresh irritation.
+
+"Worries!  Worries!  You call it by a contemptible little name like
+that, when I am face to face with ruin,--when our whole future is
+trembling in the balance?  Don't you understand that there are things
+that a man may not do, and that orders may be put upon him which he
+cannot obey and preserve his self-respect?  He may be forced to resign
+even when he would gladly work his fingers to the bone, if by any fair
+means he could keep his post?"
+
+"Ah-ah!" cried Lilias, with a deep, indrawn breath, as if now, at last,
+she had come to the real pivot on which the question hung.  "Ah, yes,
+Ned, I understand that if you once get the idea in that romantic head of
+yours that you are being coerced to do what is not according to your
+lights, there is an end of all peace until you are undeceived!  We have
+known you so long, remember, and heard all about your college days from
+Jim.  `Don Quixote,' they called you, because you were always taking up
+high-flown notions of duty.  It was delightful at Oxford, and such a
+good example to the other men; but in business--you can't keep it up in
+business, Ned!  I am only a girl, but I hear people talk, and I know
+quite well how it is.  It is impossible to make a living at all, if you
+are too particular what you do, and are always stopping to consider
+other people besides yourself.  You say that you were beaten by the
+other firms when you were managing your father's Works, and now you will
+let yourself be beaten again, if you give way to these foolish
+prejudices and scruples."
+
+Lilias finished with a breathless gasp, and Ned stood looking down at
+her in silence.  An expression of absolute horror had grown in his eyes
+as he listened to her words, and now he threw himself down on the chair
+beside her, and grasped her hands in appeal.
+
+"Lilias!  Lilias!--don't!  Don't speak like that, darling!  My little
+white girl, don't turn pleader against me!  You are to be my helpmeet,
+my good angel, the inspiration of my life; don't begin by wishing me to
+do less than my best!  I am not imagining difficulties--you know I am
+not--but even if I were, would it not be better to lose something for
+conscience' sake, than deliberately to sell myself for gain?  I am in
+great perplexity, Lilias, and need all my courage.  I beseech you not to
+discourage me!"
+
+His words were, in effect, a repetition of Mrs Rendell's on the same
+subject, and now, as then, Lilias was shocked into a softer, more
+unselfish frame of mind.  The ready tears started to her eyes, and her
+voice quivered with emotion.
+
+"Indeed, indeed, I long to help you!  I would not hinder you for the
+world.  I was trying to reconcile you to your position--to save you, if
+possible, from worse trouble in the future.  I know you will never
+consent to do what is wrong, but if you are firm and patient, all may
+still be well.  It is worth trying, at least, for if you threw up this
+post what is to happen next?  You would have nothing to do."
+
+"I could always earn a salary of a few hundreds a year.  If they have
+done nothing else, these last years have given me a thorough technical
+knowledge of my own business, and that has a marketable value nowadays.
+With the influence of the old name to back me up, I could find some firm
+ready to take me in and give me a subordinate post.  If I had only
+myself to think of, I should not worry my head, for I have never had any
+ambition to be a rich man; and the mater has her private income--I need
+not be anxious about her.  The change would fall heaviest on you, and it
+is of you I think.  I meant to give you a home worthy of yourself, with
+every luxury and comfort, but that may not be possible now.  Can you
+forgive me, dear, for bringing all this trouble upon you?"
+
+He looked wistfully into the lovely face, and Lilias pressed her lips
+together, staring fixedly at the ground.  At that moment she could not
+bring herself to say that she forgave him, or to express any
+complaisance at the thought of the future.  Imagination ran riot, and
+she saw as in a picture a little house in a smoky manufacturing town,
+and shrank with distaste from its narrow walls and meagre furnishings.
+Yes, indeed!  Ned might well declare that she was the greatest sufferer,
+and it was only right that he should pity her.  If this breakdown had
+happened three months before, her parents would not have consented to
+her engagement, and it should have been his duty to be well assured of
+his position before involving another, as she was now involved.  The
+swelling of resentment grew so strong, that, against her better
+judgment, it forced itself into speech.
+
+"You seem fated to misfortune!  It follows you wherever you go.  But
+this cannot all have sprung up within the last two months.  You must
+have known something about it in March,--in April,--before you spoke to
+me!"
+
+From the flash in Ned's eyes she feared that he was about to make some
+hot reply, but he checked himself, and answered with gentle forbearance.
+Only, if she had had eyes to see it, the shadow had fallen deeper than
+ever over his face, and his shoulders bent, as if an additional burden
+had fallen upon them.
+
+"No, Lilias, I knew nothing!  I would never have proposed to you if I
+had not honestly believed in my good prospects.  The difficulty has
+arisen since then; but don't be afraid, I shall not urge you to any
+sacrifices on my behalf.  I will work hard, and you shall stay at home
+until I can give you all you desire.  I will not ask you to share a
+poverty which you dread so much."
+
+"I wouldn't mind it for myself.  It is of you I think!" murmured Lilias
+sweetly.  "I should love nothing so much as to help you, Ned, but I am
+such a useless little thing that I should only be a drag.  If it had
+been Maud, it would have been different.  Maud is cut out for a poor
+man's wife, and would be blissfully happy living on twopence-halfpenny a
+week, and making it go as far as half a crown, but I am so stupid.  My
+money seems to fly away, and I could not be economical if my life
+depended on it."
+
+Ned sighed, and looked round the garden with a wistful air.
+
+"I wish Maud were at home!" he said.  "She is always so good and
+helpful.  It puts new strength in a man to hear her talk.  The house
+does not seem like itself when Maud is away!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+GERVASE VANBURGH.
+
+"Humph!" remarked Miss Nan to herself the next afternoon, as she watched
+the lovers pacing the garden walk, "Humph! unless my eyes deceive me,
+relationships are strained between our dear young friends.  The
+atmosphere seems charged with--not electricity, but an amount of ice
+which is suitable neither to the season nor the occasion.  Strikes me,
+I'd better be out of the way!  I'll do an act of charity to another and
+a good turn to myself at one and the same time, and go and have tea with
+Diogenes!"
+
+She spoke with a certainty of welcome, justified by the delight with
+which Mr Vanburgh invariably greeted her appearance, for she had
+discovered that nothing pleased him so much as to see her running in and
+out of the house, popping in for ten minutes' chat on her return from a
+walk, or livening a dull afternoon by taking her work across the road,
+and stitching by his couch.  This latter attention had also brought
+about the happy results of interesting the invalid in the coming sale,
+and more than one of Nan's efforts was bought before it was completed,
+thereby affording that young lady a terrible temptation to scamp the
+work which remained.  On the present occasion, however, she was in a
+lazy mood, and frowned sternly on her conscience, when it suggested that
+she should make use of the opportunity to finish a certain table centre.
+No, indeed, she decided, she would do nothing of the kind.  Unwilling
+work was invariably a failure, and she felt no vocation to do anything
+more energetic than sit still and eat Mr Vanburgh's delicious cakes,
+and drink Mr Vanburgh's excellent tea.
+
+She stood up then, and, as a preliminary step, regarded herself
+critically in the mirror, for among other things which had been borne in
+upon her concerning her new neighbour, one was that he was exceedingly
+fastidious about appearances, and as sharp as a needle to discover any
+discrepancies in her attire.  He was too polite to put his criticisms
+into words, but his face spoke volumes, and certain historic occasions,
+when she had sat smarting beneath the consciousness of a missing button
+or a crooked tie, had made a lasting impression on the mind of the
+careless young woman.  Nowadays, however fleeting might be her visit to
+the Grange, she never went without a careful examination of her
+appearance.  A shop window answered the purpose of a mirror, if nothing
+better could be found, and one morning, as Agatha and Christabel walked
+along the village street, they had been reduced to a state of speechless
+amazement by discovering Nan twisting and turning before the wired
+windows of the Bank, with as much concern for her appearance as though
+she had been Lilias herself.
+
+On the present occasion there were only a few stray locks to be pinned
+in order, and then the glass reflected a charming picture of happy
+girlhood.  The pique skirt was fresh and neat; the pink shirt belted in
+by a natty white band, and the dark hair curled softly round the fresh
+bright face.  Nan stared at herself solemnly, contorting her face into
+the curious, strained expression with which nine women out of ten regard
+themselves in a mirror, twisted round, to be sure that her belt showed
+no unsightly gap, pulled her tie accurately into the middle of her
+collar, and finally fastened on a sailor hat, and ran gaily across the
+street.  She did not go to the front door this time, for--unique and
+extraordinary sign of favour--to her, and to her alone, had been granted
+permission to use the garden gate, enter the house by the side door, and
+so make her way upstairs unannounced.  Mr Vanburgh had been anxious to
+put every facility in his favourite's way, for only an invalid can
+appreciate the brightness which had come into his life since this merry-
+hearted girl had taken compassion upon his loneliness.  To see her
+bonnie face peering in at the door, to hear her ringing laugh, and
+listen to her voice, was better than any tonic, and seemed to put fresh
+strength into his feeble body.
+
+Up the stairs, then, Nan ran, and made straight for the study where the
+invalid spent his afternoons.  The door was closed, but to wait to
+announce her arrival by a knock was a proceeding far too dignified for
+one of her impetuous nature; she merely turned the handle, thrust a
+mischievous face round the corner, and announced boldly, "I've come to
+tea!"
+
+There was no answering exclamation of delight, and Nan had just
+discovered, with a gasp of surprise, that the couch was empty, when a
+tall, fair-haired man rose suddenly and confronted her.
+
+"Oh," cried Nan, and stood agape with astonishment.
+
+"I beg your pardon," drawled the stranger, and stared back out of a pair
+of handsome, sleepy eyes, "You--er--you expected to see Mr Vanburgh; I
+am sorry to say he is not very well--"
+
+"Not well?  Oh dear, I'm sorry!  And are you the doctor?--Have you come
+from town?"
+
+"Oh no!"  The tall man smiled, as if, for some reason, the idea seemed
+quite preposterous to his mind.  "I am not the doctor.  I am Mr
+Vanburgh's nephew.  I was coming to visit him shortly in any case, and
+as I heard that he was not well, I thought it better to come down and
+see for myself exactly how he was."
+
+"Of course.  I am so vexed that I did not know about it, but I have been
+so busy this week that I have not seen him since Sunday.  He is really
+ill?  In bed?  Not able to get up?"
+
+"He has kept in bed for two days, but is coming in presently to join me
+at tea, so I hope that you--er--you will fulfil the intention with which
+you came!" and the speaker smiled at the pretty girl with a sudden
+lighting of the sleepy eyes.  He was thinking to himself what a
+marvellous difference her coming had made in the aspect of the dim,
+solemn room.  All day long he had roamed about the house and grounds
+with the eerie feeling of being alone in an enchanted castle, where a
+spell of sleep was laid on the occupants.  Wherever the eye lighted,
+some rare and costly treasure greeted the sight; the great rooms opened
+one into the other, while rare Venetian mirrors reduplicated the
+tapestries on the walls and seemed to open out fresh vistas before the
+eye.  It was a palace among houses, a very storehouse of treasures, but
+the want of life chilled the blood in the young man's veins.  Not a
+human soul to be seen but the silent-footed servant with his foreign
+tongue, and the crippled master, dead already to all that makes life
+worth living!  All day long he had been alone, struggling with a
+depression which seemed to close more and more heavily around him; but
+here, at last, was a creature like himself, young, radiant, full of
+life, with the glow of health and happiness on her rosy cheek.  His
+glance was so undisguisedly friendly that Nan responded to it with a
+smile, and seated herself forthwith on her accustomed chair.  Shyness
+not being a complaint by which she was troubled, she saw no reason for
+refusing the stranger's invitation, or for disguising the keen interest
+which she took in his own individuality.
+
+"Thank you; I'd like to stay," she said frankly.  "I am so pleased to
+meet you, for I know all about you.  `Gervase Farrington Vanburgh',"--
+she checked off each word on uplifted fingers, and nodded her head with
+an air of triumph at the completeness of her information.
+
+"`The Boundaries, Lipton, Devonshire.'  I have posted ever so many notes
+to you, and once I addressed an envelope.  Perhaps you remember my
+scrawly writing, with long tails to the letters?  We were dreadfully
+disappointed that Mr Vanburgh had no daughters, for we have not many
+friends of our own age, but he tried to console us by saying that you
+were coming to pay him a visit.  I asked him especially to arrange it
+for June, for we shall have our brother home then, and several things
+going on which will make it livelier than usual.  We have made all sorts
+of plans for your amusement!"
+
+"That is kind; I appreciate it very much.  I have heard of you too, and
+of the pleasure which your acquaintance has given my uncle.  He was
+giving me an account of you all last night, from which I have no
+difficulty in recognising you from your sisters.  You are Miss Lilias!"
+
+"Lilias!--I!  Good gracious!  Whatever made you think that?" gasped Nan,
+staring at him with eyes so clear and honest, that, though an adept in
+the gentle art of flattery, Gervase Vanburgh found himself incapable of
+explaining the reason of his mistake.  He could not tell Nan Rendell
+that, after hearing Lilias described as the beauty of the family, he had
+at once identified her with the charming figure whose presence had
+brought sunshine into the gloomy house.  He murmured some vague excuse,
+while Nan proceeded to expatiate on the difference between herself and
+her sister.  "Lilias is fair, and I am dark; she has golden hair, and is
+quite grown up and staid and proper.  I am supposed to be grown up too,
+in the afternoons and in the evenings, but the mornings are my own, and
+then I am disgracefully young, and behave as badly as if I were a child
+again.  I wish I were!  I shall never be so happy again as I was in the
+dear old school-days."  Nan's eyes roamed wistfully across the road to
+the porch room, where Elsie's sleek head could be seen bent over her
+work, with Agatha and Christabel vaguely outlined at the table; then
+suddenly her face lit up with mischievous smiles.  "If they could only
+see me!" she told herself ecstatically.  "If the girls could see me
+sitting here talking to this strange young man!  They'd have a fit!
+They'd go crazy with excitement!  I must, I must lure him to the window,
+and let them see us together!  They will never believe me unless I do."
+She looked up, to meet Gervase's eyes fixed upon her, and found
+inspiration in his first remark.
+
+"You are looking at your own house, are you not?  It is exactly opposite
+this, I think.  My uncle pointed it out to me last night."
+
+"Yes, just opposite.  It stands on the road, as this one does, but we
+have a lovely garden behind.  You can see a little bit of it from here!"
+and wily Nan led the way to the window, secure of bringing Gervase in
+her train, and keeping him in evidence until it pleased her to finish
+her explanations.  The appearance of her own light dress was sufficient
+to attract Elsie's attention; but what of the agitation of the three at
+sight of her companion?  Elsie fled into the background--"The better to
+see you, my dear,"--and Nan's keen eyes could discern the three patches
+of white made by the gaping faces, the while she smiled and posed, far
+more for their benefit than that of her companion.  Presently Elsie
+disappeared, and Nan knew as well as if she had heard the words spoken,
+that the object of her flight had been to bring the opera-glasses from
+the drawing-room, when the three would take turns to stare at the
+stranger, and speculate as to his identity.  In the first mischievous
+enjoyment of the moment she found it impossible to face her companion,
+but when at last she did venture to meet his glance she was vastly
+impressed by his appearance.  A superfine specimen indeed, this Gervase
+Vanburgh, with his frock-coat, well-creased trousers, and immaculate
+linen.  Even Nan, the unnoticing, noted the faultlessness of detail
+which characterised his attire, and had an instant perception that Ned
+Talbot would look rough and countrified by his side, and even Jim
+himself suffer from the contrast.  Evidently this was a dandy of the
+first water; yet, despite his languid bearing, his face was full of
+intelligence, and decision of character was proclaimed in the large nose
+and square, clean-cut chin.
+
+"What a mercy I tidied my hair!" sighed Nan to herself; and at that
+moment the door opened, and in came the Italian servant, pushing his
+master before him in the wheeled chair in which he was moved from one
+room to another.  The invalid was looking more death-like than ever, but
+his face lighted with pleasure at the sight of Nan, while she ran to the
+sofa and arranged his cushions with loving solicitude.  When he was
+settled she knelt beside him to exchange greetings, putting her hand on
+his with a caressing gesture, and he held it firmly while he replied, as
+if gaining strength from the contact.  Gervase Vanburgh thought he had
+never seen so typical a picture of youth and age as that made by his
+uncle and the bright-faced girl, and mentally contrasted this welcome
+with the one given to himself the day before.  His uncle had never shown
+such pleasure on his arrival; but he felt no jealousy of the girl who
+was so evidently preferred before himself; for, whatever his faults
+might be, he was free at least from any tinge of self-seeking.  The lazy
+smile lingered on his face as he listened to the exchange of question
+and answer.
+
+"This is a pleasant surprise, little woman!  When did you come across?
+I did not hear of your arrival."
+
+"Bounced in ten minutes ago, and had such a fright to find a stranger
+here instead of you.  Why didn't you send at once to tell me that you
+were worse?"
+
+"Because I could not have seen you if you had come.  On my bad days I am
+best alone; but I am pulling round again, and am glad to have Gervase's
+company.  You have made each other's acquaintance, I see!  I suppose
+neither had much difficulty in guessing the identity of the other."
+
+"He thought I was Lilias!" said Nan, glancing at Gervase with laughing
+eyes.  "Think of that!  He will be surprised when he sees her, won't he?
+But I knew who he was in a moment.  Now, tell me honestly, would you
+rather I went away?  I came meaning to stay to tea, but if you don't
+feel able to talk to two people at once I'll come again when you are
+alone.  I won't be a scrap offended!"
+
+Mr Vanburgh smiled.
+
+"I am sure you would not, but I should like you to stay, please.  We
+want you to pour out tea for us; and I won't attempt to talk, but just
+lie still and amuse myself listening to you."
+
+"But I never can be amusing when I try,--can you?" said Nan, appealing
+to Gervase with a friendly smile.  "The girls at home think I am
+amusing, because I generally say the wrong thing at the wrong moment,
+which may be entertaining to them, but is very poor fun for me.  Maud
+says I speak first and think afterwards; but what can I do?  I once made
+a vow to cure myself of being impetuous by counting twenty slowly before
+I began to speak, and I kept it religiously two whole days.  They seemed
+like a month; and if I had persevered I should have become dumb, for by
+the time I had counted twenty the conversation had hopped on to another
+subject, and any remark was hopelessly out of date!  So now I have gone
+back to my old ways, and say my say, and take the consequences."
+
+"You don't look to me as if you were given to making painful remarks,"
+Gervase remarked in a conciliatory tone, and Nan straightened her back
+in defence of her own behaviour.
+
+"Wouldn't hurt a fly!  That's the worst part of it.  For I am so soft-
+hearted over other people's woes, that I shed tears regularly every time
+I meet a tramp, and he tells me that he is a discharged seaman who has
+lost his certificate, and only needs four and sixpence to take him to a
+port where he is certain to find fresh work.  They always have lost
+their certificates and want a railway fare, but I can't help relieving
+them and handing-over last Saturday's money.  But a tender heart is not
+much use if you make awkward remarks and quote people's own doings to
+their faces, as capital jokes against somebody else!  I got into
+terrible trouble in that way with a caller only the other day, and if I
+had had any sense I should have stopped in time, for I had plenty of
+warning.  Her face grew all stiff and rigid, and I wondered what in the
+world had given Elsie such a cough all of a sudden.  Is there any cure,
+do you think, for a habit like this--anything I could do to make myself
+careful?"
+
+There was a pause while the two men looked at the eager face, smiled,
+and grew sober, as the question awoke memories from their own past.
+
+"A practical kindness of heart, Nan, which is not satisfied with facile
+tears and offerings, but takes continual thought of the feelings of
+others!"
+
+"Or a severe lesson!" added the younger man thoughtfully.  "If you
+wounded some one very near and dear, and saw them suffer through your
+thoughtlessness, you could never forget it.  I learnt that for myself
+long ago, when--"
+
+But Nan heard no more of what he said, for, with a flash, her eager mind
+had leapt to the solution of the mystery.  More love!  That was what was
+needed.  Love, the cure for every human fault.  She applied the test to
+her own experience, and found it abundantly proven.  Had any word or
+deed of hers hurt Maud through the period of ultra-sensitiveness through
+which that dear sister had passed?  Ten thousand times, no!  On the
+contrary, she had been quick to ward off blows, to turn dangerous
+conversations into new channels, to stand between the sufferer and the
+world.  Where she loved it was obvious that she could show both care and
+tact; it was want of love which lay at the root of her thoughtless acts
+and speeches.  Gervase looked up at the conclusion of his story, to find
+the girl staring blankly across the room, with a glimmer of tears in the
+brown eyes, and was at a loss to guess the meaning.
+
+"I'll begin this instant, and love every one in this world!"  Nan was
+saying to herself determinedly.  "It will be fatiguing, but so good for
+my character.  I'll think of what they will like, and what I can do for
+them, and spend my time in good works.  What can I do now for these two
+men?  It's no credit pouring out tea, for I want some myself; but I
+might do something for that poor Gervase to-night, when Mr Vanburgh
+goes to bed, and he is left alone.  He looked dolefully dull when I came
+in, and I believe he would enjoy coming across and seeing us all, as he
+has heard so much about us.  I'll ask him anyway, and see what he says."
+
+The idea was so pleasant that the dimples came back to greet it; she
+looked across at Gervase with a brilliant smile, and struck amazement to
+his heart by inquiring blandly--
+
+"Would you like to come to dinner with us tonight?"
+
+Gervase Vanburgh stared, as well he might, at so informal an invitation.
+His uncle also struggled with a smile, and Nan, tardily conscious of
+her lack of formality, plunged headlong into explanations--
+
+"I meant to say that it will be lonely for you after Mr Vanburgh goes
+to bed, and I am sure mother would be delighted to see you.  We have Ned
+Talbot, a friend of Lil--of my brother Jim staying with us, so that
+there would be two other men to keep you company.  When father and Jim
+are away, we never ask gentlemen to the house, for mother says seven
+women at one time are too great a tax on any man's nervous system; but
+you wouldn't be afraid of us when there were two other men, would you?
+The schoolroom girls don't come down until after dinner, so we are
+really only three."
+
+Gervase Vanburgh laughed aloud, and Nan looked up with a quick flash of
+approval, for a laugh has a tell-tale sound, and this one rang
+unmistakably honest and true.
+
+"I am not in the least afraid," he cried boldly.  "I'd like to see you
+all, school-girls included.  It is most kind of you to think of it, and
+if Mrs Rendell will really allow me, I shall be delighted to accept
+your invitation."
+
+So Nan ran across the street, and entered the house with the great news
+that Gervase Vanburgh had arrived, and--given a formal invitation--was
+coming that very evening to make the acquaintance of the family.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+AMONG THE ROSES.
+
+By no one was the news of Gervase Vanburgh's advent greeted with more
+enthusiasm than by Lilias herself, for, truth to tell, the day had
+seemed interminably long in the company of a depressed and anxious
+lover.  The points of view from which Ned and herself regarded his
+position seemed to grow more hopelessly far apart the more it was
+discussed, and the consciousness that he was disappointed by her lack of
+sympathy did not tend to raise Lilias's spirits.  If the question at
+stake had not touched the all-important subject of future comfort, she
+would have been willing to sacrifice her own wishes in order to preserve
+Ned's approval, but in this crisis of their fate she would allow no such
+weakness.  If her own parents seemed to place Ned's scruples before her
+interests, if Ned himself were so ignorant of what was due to his
+_fiancee_ as to talk calmly of accepting the position of a clerk on a
+few hundreds a year, it behoved her to be firm, and make Ned understand
+that she would never be his wife until he could provide something more
+than the bare necessaries of life.  Nevertheless, the task of opposition
+was far from pleasant, and the grave wonder of his glance cut like a
+knife into her vain little heart.
+
+It was a relief to know that the presence of a stranger would prevent
+further reference to the subject for this evening at least, while the
+Vanburgh nephew and heir was in himself a sufficiently interesting
+person.  Lilias put on her prettiest dress, and sat trifling with a book
+until the company had assembled in the drawing-room, and the time was
+ripe for an effective entrance, when she glided into the room, and
+smiled sweetly at the stranger, while Nan watched his face with
+mischievous enjoyment.  He was surprised--there was no mistake about
+that!  When Lilias raised her face to his, he gave a distinct little
+start of surprise, and the sleepy eyes looked for once quite wide-awake
+and animated.
+
+"And the stupid fellow actually mistook me for her!" chuckled Nan to
+herself, with that pride in her sister's beauty which the Rendell girls
+shared so loyally, looking upon it as a family possession which
+reflected credit on one and all.  "That's one mistake he will never make
+again, however much confused he may get among six sisters!"
+
+Conversation at the dinner table was of a general character; but every
+now and then Nan found an opportunity of exchanging a few quiet remarks
+with Gervase Vanburgh, who sat next herself, the result of which was to
+assure her that she had found a character as diametrically different
+from her own as it was possible to imagine.  She was full of energy, he
+was languid to the verge of apathy; she had hard and fast opinions to
+offer on every topic, known or unknown, while his "Don't know!" and
+"Couldn't say!" repeated themselves with wearisome echo.  She was afire
+with ardour, with enthusiasm, with the burning desire to right all
+wrongs, redress all evils, bring peace on earth, and start the
+millennium without a moment's delay; judging from appearances, he seemed
+incapable of any sort of emotion, and possessed with the conviction that
+nothing was really worth taking any trouble about.
+
+Nan grew irritated beyond measure, wriggled about on her seat, shrugged
+her shoulders, and crumbled her bread, unconscious alike of her father's
+smiles and her mother's frowns, and, when actions failed to relieve her
+feelings, was forced into emphatic speech.
+
+"Nothing interests you, nothing gives you pleasure!  You care for
+nothing, you hope for nothing!  I wouldn't be like you for the whole
+wide world!" she declared; and Gervase Vanburgh fixed his melancholy
+eyes upon her, and said tragically--
+
+"And I would give the whole wide world if I could once more care and
+hope like you!"
+
+This was disconcerting.  Nan had not expected so speedy a concession,
+and she followed her mother from the room oppressed by the remembrance
+of that melancholy look, and consumed with curiosity as to its cause.
+Money anxiety it could not be, seeing that Mr Vanburgh's heir need
+never fear want; but a broken home, disappointed love, and faithless
+friendship held out wide avenues for speculation.  Nan sat and pondered,
+listening meekly to her mother's reproofs, while inside the dining-room
+Mr Rendell could not resist putting a home question to his visitor.
+
+"You were amused by my little girl's enthusiasm!  I saw her growing hot
+and eager, and had a strong suspicion that you were leading her on!  She
+is a most fervent young person, and cannot understand being less than in
+deadly earnest over any question."
+
+"She is er--refreshingly young!" replied Gervase in his soft, drawling
+voice.  He took no notice of the charge made against himself, but went
+on peeling his fruit with an air of pensive exhaustion, at which the two
+elder men exchanged glances of amusement.  He looked at once so young,
+so healthy, and so prosperous, that this affectation of depression had
+somewhat of a ludicrous air to men who knew the world and had
+acquaintance with real and pressing anxieties.  Ned Talbot looked across
+the table at the handsome youngster, and heaved a sigh to the memory of
+the good old days when he also was happy enough to invent troubles, and
+philosophise darkly concerning unknown woes.  He had come south with a
+heart heavy with care, yet with an expectation of comfort which had
+taken away half the sting, but that hope had been doomed to
+disappointment, and on the morrow he must return to his work with an
+added fear in his heart.  Could it be that he had been mistaken in
+Lilias?  As a man eating a soft bloomy peach jars his teeth suddenly
+against its stone, so had Ned found himself confronted with a hardness
+in his _fiancee's_ nature which had brought with it a shock of
+disillusionment.  Surely, surely, if a girl were ever to be sweet and
+sympathetic to the man whom she had promised to marry, it was when he
+was threatened by misfortune; but Lilias evidently refused to believe in
+his version of affairs, and cherished a grudging conviction that he was
+sacrificing her to romantic scruples.  He had talked, and pleaded, and
+reasoned--it was like hitting one's self against a wall.  She never
+swerved from her position, her voice never lost its tone of studied
+toleration; and now he sat, the poor fellow! listening dreamily to the
+conversation between the other two men, too weary and depressed to take
+any active share in it himself.
+
+When a movement was made towards the drawing-room half an hour later,
+however, Lilias was discovered leaning against the lintel of the window,
+looking so young, so sweet and fragile, that every chivalrous instinct
+rose up in her defence.  Such a girl was not made to endure hardships,
+Ned reflected tenderly.  The man who was lucky enough to own her should
+be prepared to carry all burdens on his own shoulders.  He was ready!
+Oh yes; if Lilias would but love him faithfully, he would work for her
+with the strength of twenty men.  He was eager to tell her so, to
+apologise for his harshness of the afternoon; and, stepping past into
+the garden, he caught her hand in his, and tried to draw her away.
+
+"Come, dear, come!  Let us walk round the garden.  I want to speak to
+you alone."
+
+Lilias laughed, gave a caressing little squeeze to his hand, but stood
+firmly in her position.  Gervase Vanburgh and her father were
+approaching, and a general conversation seemed at the moment more
+interesting than a _tete-a-tete_ with her lover.  So far she had had
+little opportunity of speaking to the stranger, and his appearance both
+interested and perplexed her.  The air of languid elegance which
+provoked Nan, filled her sister with admiration, yet there was something
+baffling in the expression of the sleepy eyes.  Lilias had an
+uncomfortable impression that those eyes might be very keen on
+occasions, and would have suspected a quizzical expression at the
+present moment, had the idea not been so palpably absurd.  Why should
+Gervase find anything amusing in her attitude?  It was surely a most
+natural thing that she, as the eldest daughter at home, should wait for
+the gentlemen, while her sisters went out into the garden, and, that
+being so, where should she stand, if not by the window?  Nevertheless,
+the slow, quiet smile which followed his glance around, sent the blood
+into her cheeks, and seemed to intimate that he was as well aware as
+herself of the appropriateness of the background, and the care which had
+devised that seemingly careless pose!  So disconcerted was she that she
+would have been inclined to retire in Ned's company had he pressed his
+request a second time, but he was silenced by the first refusal, and the
+little group stood together exchanging commonplaces, until a white dress
+appeared among the rose-bushes, and Nan's voice called out an unabashed
+summons--
+
+"I thought you were never coming!  Why don't you come out?  It's
+perfectly lovely here.  The roses smell so delicious in the dusk; and
+oh, father, there are two whole flowers on the little pink-belled
+saxifrage you brought home from Norway!"
+
+"No!" cried Mr Rendell in tones of incredulous ecstasy, which stamped
+him on the spot as one of the noble army of gardeners.  He hurried
+forward to inspect the new treasures, while Nan went down on her knees
+to hold up their tiny heads and expatiate on their fragile beauty.  When
+she arose five minutes later, she found two surprises awaiting her, the
+first being the presence of Mr Vanburgh by her side, and the second,
+alas! two large green stains on her white skirt, in the middle of the
+front seam, where she had knelt on the dewy grass.  Her face of dismay
+as she pointed downwards evoked a laugh from the two men, but Mr
+Rendell checked himself, glanced over his shoulder towards where his
+wife paced to and fro, and said quickly--
+
+"Better run upstairs, dear, and change it.  No need to be distressed;
+you have plenty more, I suppose, and it will wash."
+
+Nan groaned in a sepulchral fashion, and shook her head.
+
+"You don't understand!  It's an evening skirt with trimmings, not an
+ordinary pique.  My very best too!  I put it on because Mr Vanburgh was
+coming, and now it's spoilt!"
+
+"Oh, surely not!  Don't say that; it makes me feel so horribly guilty.
+Let me try if I can rub it off," cried the visitor eagerly; and, before
+Nan could protest, out came a superfine hemstitched handkerchief, and
+Gervase began rubbing the damaged skirt with such vigour, that the
+stains grew larger and larger, and increased their borders so rapidly
+that they met and blended in one great whole.  His face lengthened with
+horror as he withdrew his handkerchief, and gazed upon the results of
+his labour; and Nan said dismally--
+
+"Thank you so much!  It's much worse now!  Wish I were old enough to
+wear black always, and not be bothered.  My life's a burden to me
+because of my clothes!"
+
+"For the mother's pride the child must suffer pain!" cried Mr Rendell,
+laughing.  "That is what Kitty said, isn't it, when her mother insisted
+on pinning down the end of her collar?  Better confess at once, Mops,
+and get it over!  Tell your mother she can send it to the cleaner's, and
+I'll stand the racket."
+
+"Come and tell her yourself.  D-oo, ducky darling!  Sweetest father in
+all the world, come and plead for me!" coaxed Nan, hanging on to his
+arm, and rubbing his face with her soft cool cheek, while he affected to
+push her away, and in reality allowed himself to be led where she would
+take him.
+
+Mr Vanburgh followed, stroking his moustache to conceal his smile, and
+Mrs Rendell's quick eyes saw their approach, and fixed themselves
+sternly upon Nan's ruined skirt.
+
+"Another accident, Edith, worse luck!  The grass would get damp, and
+Mops and I were so interested in looking at our plant that we forgot
+everything else, and--"
+
+"So I observe!  It is a pity, but I am not surprised.  What can one
+expect from Nan, but destruction!"  Mrs Rendell spoke with melancholy
+resignation, while the assembled sisters looked on with solemn eyes.
+Dainty Lilias, pensive Elsie, kindly Agatha, Christabel the immaculate,
+they stood gazing in a solid phalanx of disapproval, while Nan the
+culprit hung her head and flushed with embarrassment.  A moment later
+Mrs Rendell had turned the conversation into another channel, unwilling
+to prolong the present discussion in the presence of a stranger, and Nan
+seized the opportunity to escape to the far end of the garden.  Gervase
+Vanburgh stood in her path, and spied the glimmer of tears on the dark
+eyelashes as she passed by.  Then she disappeared, and Elsie's chin
+dropped with amazement as she saw the elegant stranger deliberately mark
+a stone on the path, and kick it savagely with the toe of his patent
+leather shoe.
+
+"Bland of exterior, but concealing beneath the surface secret and
+violent impulses!"  Such was the character given to Gervase Vanburgh in
+Miss Elsie Rendell's diary that evening; and perhaps for once the
+youthful author was not far wrong in her conclusions!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+A VOW OF FRIENDSHIP.
+
+The next morning at ten o'clock the Italian servant was entrusted with a
+message from his master which created a wild excitement in the Rendell
+family.  Mr Vanburgh was restored to his usual health, and wished to
+celebrate that fact, and provide at the same time a little entertainment
+for his nephew, by giving an _alfresco_ luncheon in the garden, to which
+he invited his friends at Thurston House.  The meal would be served
+under the beech-tree on the lawn, and Mr Vanburgh hoped to welcome his
+guests at one o'clock precisely.
+
+"But not all of us!  There are six of us--six women--not to mention Mr
+Talbot.  Mr Vanburgh cannot mean to include the school-room party!  The
+elder ones will be delighted to accept, but--"
+
+"_Mother_!" gasped Christabel.  Agatha laid hold of the back of a couch,
+and prepared to faint on the spot, and the Italian looked from one to
+the other, a gleam of amusement showing in the dusky eyes.
+
+"My master would be much disappointed, madam.  He wishes especially the
+young signorinas.  I am to bear an invitation also to Mrs Maitland and
+to Miss Kitty."
+
+That settled the matter!  If Kitty were going, it would be nothing short
+of cruelty to keep her companions at home, so Mrs Rendell sent a
+general acceptance to the invitation, and shrugged her shoulders
+resignedly as each of the five girls hugged her in turns, and deafened
+her with questions.
+
+"Mother, what shall I wear?"
+
+"Mother, my pique skirts have not come home from the wash!  I wish you
+would leave that horrid laundry.  It's the third time--"
+
+"Mother, will my pink blouse do?  It's the nicest I have, and it's only
+a little bit soiled on the sleeves, and if I wore clean cuffs--"
+
+"Mother, need I change?  Can't I go as I am, and be happy?  I might want
+to climb over a fence, and it's such spiky work."
+
+"Mother, I think we should all go dressed alike in white dresses and
+blue ties, and march across the road in a crocodile.  Do let's!  It
+would be such fun!"
+
+Mrs Rendell pressed her hands to her head in distracted fashion.
+
+"If every single one of you is not out of this room in two minutes from
+now, I'll retract, and send a refusal instead!  Get away to your work!
+I'll see you separately later on, if you want instructions, but surely
+girls of your age ought to be able to dress without my assistance!  The
+only thing I bargain for is that you are _not_ alike, for that would
+only accentuate your number, and as it is I feel ashamed to appear with
+such a battalion."
+
+"Lilias, need we go?"  Ned Talbot slid his hand through his _fiancee's_
+arm, and drew her into the garden.  "If the party is too large, why
+should we not reduce it by two, and have a quiet little lunch by
+ourselves?  I must leave before four o'clock, and if we go to the Grange
+it will mean that we have no more time together, for we cannot run away
+immediately after lunch.  Mr Vanburgh would understand our position if
+we sent an excuse."
+
+"Oh, Ned!" cried Lilias, and the tone of reproach was so eloquent that
+there could be no mistaking her wishes on the subject.  "Oh, Ned, the
+first time we have been asked!  Our first invitation!  You couldn't
+really wish me to refuse it.  I should be so dreadfully disappointed.
+You don't know how much we have longed to be asked, or what castles in
+the air we have built about this day!"
+
+"Very well, dear; don't trouble yourself.  We will do just as you
+please," said Ned wearily.  He tried to convince himself of the
+reasonableness of Lilias's position, and to show no sign of resentment;
+but the jar was there all the same, and seemed to set up a barrier
+between them in all they did and said.  If any one had foretold that he
+should feel time drag heavily in Lilias's company, and cast about in his
+mind for subjects on which to talk, how he would have derided the idea!
+yet, alas, it had come true, for he felt a distinct sense of gratitude
+towards Nan when she thrust her head out of a bedroom window and
+summoned Lilias to her assistance.  When there is no sympathy in the
+great principles of life, small talks become increasingly difficult, as
+this poor fellow was discovering to his cost.
+
+Punctually at one o'clock the door of Thurston House was thrown open,
+and Mrs Rendell was discovered standing upon the threshold, issuing
+final directions to her flock.
+
+"Stop talking!  My dear, good girls, if you insist upon speaking all
+together, how am I to make myself heard?  Pray calm yourselves, and
+behave like reasonable beings.  Don't let me have the humiliation of
+taking about a crowd of excited children who might never before have
+been outside their own gate!"  Then she marched majestically ahead, with
+the demure Elsie as her companion, while the engaged couple followed,
+and each of the three remaining girls fell back in turns to cast a
+critical glance at her companions.  Half-way across the road Nan's belt
+was discovered to have parted company with the skirt, and the most
+strategic measures were necessary in order to secure it before her
+mother reached the door of the Grange.
+
+"And remember, all of you, not to put your arms round her waist!  The
+pin will stick out, whatever I do with it," said Christabel darkly; then
+the door was thrown open, and the butler led the way across the hall
+towards the entrance to the garden.  Each member of the visiting party
+was consumed with curiosity to examine the beautiful objects on either
+side, but had too much ado to keep her footing on the slippery oak floor
+to have any attention to spare.  Lilias clung to Ned's arm, Mrs Rendell
+and Elsie minced along with tiny footsteps, and Nan waited until no one
+was looking, and then gave giant strides from one mat to another, or
+clung to a friendly rail to help her round slippery corners.  Then at
+last the garden was reached, and there, beneath the trees, stood an
+enchanted table, laden with everything that was beautiful in the way of
+glass and china, and banked up with a wealth of pink roses.
+
+Mr Vanburgh's couch was drawn up at its head, and Kitty Maitland sat at
+his side, bearing herself with that preternatural solemnity of manner
+which she invariably adopted along with her best dress and hat.  A
+moment later Mrs Maitland and Gervase appeared from behind a tree, and
+the elders shook hands and murmured the meaningless speeches common to
+such occasions, while Kitty took an early opportunity of stepping to
+Chrissie's side, and calling her attention to the splendours on the
+table in a series of awed and breathless whispers.
+
+"Gold spoons!  Venetian glass!  It breaks if you look at it!  I daren't
+drink a drop out of those tumblers, and I'm so thirsty!  Such cream!
+Such strawberries!--big as peaches, my love, and such lots of them.  I
+feel like the Queen of Sheba.  There's no spirit left in me, it's all so
+grand and gorgeous."
+
+"I like it.  It suits me!  I was born to splendour!" said Chrissie, with
+an air.  "I call it awfully sweet of him to do the thing so well.  But
+what a dreadful number of knives and forks!  I shall never know which to
+use.  I wish I had asked mother about it before we came, for I do so
+detest making mistakes.  Before a butler, too--so humiliating!  And yet
+I don't want to refuse anything I can help!"
+
+"Don't refuse!  Take all that comes, and crumble bread until you see how
+other people eat it.  That's my dodge when I go out to lunch with
+mother.  I say, how do you like the nephew?  Doesn't he look ex-actly
+like the tailor's advertisement that you see in the shop windows?  I
+have never seen any man look like that before, and want to pinch him, to
+see if he is real.  Do you suppose it's possible to be so handsome, and
+yet as nice as if he were ugly, like Jim?"
+
+"Jim!  Jim ugly!" gasped Jim's outraged sister furiously.  "Gwendoline
+Maitland, you are raving!  Jim is the best-looking man I know, and I'll
+tell him the moment that he comes home that you said--"
+
+"Jim won't mind.  I told him so myself last year.  He asked how I liked
+his moustache, and I said it was `stubbly,' and he said moral worth was
+better than brilliantine.  There's none of your nasty pride about Jim."
+
+Chrissie glared, but Kitty refused to be annihilated, and crinkled her
+nose in sauciest defiance, whereupon her companion stared into space
+with an expression of disdain.  An onlooker would have concluded that a
+serious quarrel had taken place; but such small interludes were of
+common occurrence in the friendship of these two young women, and five
+minutes later they were pinching each other in the most amicable manner,
+and whispering, "Sit by me!  Sit by me!" as if true happiness could not
+be enjoyed apart.
+
+During the meal which followed there was ample opportunity of "crumbling
+bread," for the Vanburgh cook had received instructions to eclipse
+himself for the young ladies' benefit, and the succession of curious
+unknown dishes which he sent to table would have puzzled more
+experienced "diners out" than the members of the present party.  A
+prettier scene could hardly be imagined than the table under the trees,
+with the green lawn sweeping away on either side, the foreign servants
+flitting to and fro, and the six girlish faces of the guests beaming
+with delighted approval.  Elsie's eyes grew large and dreamy, as she
+mentally rehearsed the most appropriate language in which to chronicle
+the event in her diary.  Such expressions as "Arabian Nights
+entertainment," "Green sward," and "Princely Splendour," figured largely
+in the description, which ran to an inordinate length, and still seemed
+to have left half the wonders untold.
+
+Nan spoke little during the meal, but, like the proverbial parrot,
+noticed much.  She noticed that, though the utmost courtesy was
+maintained between uncle and nephew, the elder man was evidently annoyed
+by the persistent nonchalance of the younger; and she had a shrewd
+suspicion that Gervase knew as much, yet did not trouble himself to
+rectify it.  She noticed that, while Ned was depressed, Lilias's mood
+was of the gayest and sweetest; and she noticed that Gervase noticed as
+much, and studied the lovers narrowly from his point of vantage across
+the table.  She heard dear old Agatha discussing politics with her host,
+and quoting her father wholesale in her gallant attempt to be grown up
+and important; and she chuckled audibly over the two schoolgirls'
+enjoyment of the fare.  Then at last the meal was over, and she heaved a
+sigh of relief that all had passed off without catastrophe and with
+credit to the family.  No one had broken the fragile glass, no one had
+betrayed a plebeian ignorance of the _convenances_, nor showed ill-bred
+surprise.  They had examined the _menu_ with an understanding air, as
+though every other name was not as Greek to their ears, and had
+refrained from any signs of approval more noticeable than pressures of
+feet under the table, and occasional sly joltings of elbows.
+
+The two ladies stayed beside Mr Vanburgh, while the younger members of
+the party strolled about the grounds, Gervase Vanburgh first walking
+with Lilias, and then making an excuse to cross to Nan's side.  He
+smiled as he came, and his first words showed that he had grasped the
+situation without any need for words.
+
+"I shall get myself disliked if I stay there any longer!  Mr Talbot
+leaves in another hour, I think, so it is hardly fair to him to engross
+your sister."
+
+"But how do you know anything about Mr Talbot?  I never told you,"
+cried Nan in amaze; and Gervase smiled in his aggravating, lazy fashion
+as he replied--
+
+"Oh no, you simply said that `a friend of Lil--a friend of my brother
+Jim' was staying with you at present.  That was all, I think.  You gave
+me no information."
+
+"Which means that I did, of course, and blurted out everything in my
+stupid, headlong fashion," sighed Nan dolefully.  "It doesn't matter
+much in this case, for a good many people know; but mother wishes it
+kept as quiet as possible, because--"
+
+"Just so.  But I assure you that even without your hint I should have
+discovered for myself that they were at present engaged; so there is no
+necessity to blame yourself."
+
+Nan wheeled round upon him with flashing eyes.
+
+"Why do you say `at present'?" she demanded; and Gervase smiled in
+impenetrable fashion.
+
+"Did I say so?  Foolish slip!  They are engaged, of course.  I wish Miss
+Lilias every happiness, and congratulate Mr Talbot on his good taste.
+She is certainly a lovely girl."
+
+"Oh, isn't she?" cried Lilias's sister gladly.  "I knew you would say
+so.  You see now how absurd it was to mistake me for her, and what a
+difference there is between us!  I knew quite well you would be
+surprised."
+
+Gervase Vanburgh put back his head, and stared at her with a scrutiny
+which was not without a touch of cynicism; but the eager face he met was
+at once so frank and so honest, that the sneer faded from his lips and
+gave place to a smile.
+
+"Yes," he said slowly, "there is a great difference.  I cannot imagine
+two people more unlike.  You are complete contrasts in every respect."
+
+"She is so fair, and I am dark," sighed Nan, a trifle abashed by so
+vehement an assent, but striving loyally to conceal her discomfiture.
+"Lilias is our beauty, and we are all very proud of her; but you cannot
+really know the family until you have met Maud.  Maud is the eldest
+sister, and the best and sweetest of them all.  She isn't pretty, but
+she is such a dear that every one loves her.  `Maud of all work' Jim
+calls her, because she is always helping other people and forgetting
+herself."
+
+"Most exemplary, I'm sure.  Excellent example!" drawled Gervase with a
+yawn, at the sound of which the last trace of Nan's patience gave way.
+She stood still in the path and fixed him with a glittering eye; but the
+speech which swelled in her throat was slow in coming, choked back by
+very excess of emotion.  Gervase, in some alarm, demanded the cause of
+her agitation, and received a straighter answer than he expected.
+
+"I don't care to speak about Maud to a person who only sneers at her
+goodness.  If you don't mind, I'd rather talk about the weather, and the
+garden, and things that don't matter; and then I can keep as indifferent
+as you are yourself, and we sha'n't quarrel."
+
+"I sneer!  I beg a hundred pardons, Miss Nan, if I have appeared to
+sneer at anything you say; but I assure you that I have never yet
+voluntarily sneered at goodness; so that in this instance at least you
+are doing me an injustice.  You must believe me, please, for I am
+thoroughly in earnest."
+
+"Yes, I see you are.  I'm sorry that I misjudged you."
+
+"And I am sorry too.  You are sorry, I am sorry, we are both sorry, so
+now suppose we drop this subject and start afresh.  I'd like to be
+friends with you if you will; for I expect we shall see a good deal of
+each other in future, and it would distress my uncle if we disagreed.
+Do you think you could sign a treaty of friendship with me?"
+
+"Well," said Nan slowly--and then paused, too honest to pledge her word
+without counting the cost--"I could, but I'm not sure that it would
+last.  We are so different.  Would you mind answering one personal
+question?"
+
+"I'll answer fifty with pleasure if it's in my power."
+
+"Then have you known some awful trouble?  Has something dreadful, heart-
+breaking, happened to you, which you are trying to cover up and hide
+from the world?"
+
+Gervase stared at her in amazement, which ended in a laugh.
+
+"Certainly not!  I have had an absolutely smooth life--too smooth, I am
+afraid, for the growth of character.  Now I wonder what made you take
+such an idea into your head!"
+
+"I thought perhaps your heart was broken, and that was why you took no
+interest in anything that was going on."
+
+"Do I take no interest?  I was under the impression that I took a great
+deal--sometimes; but I have learned to conceal my feelings.  You may not
+perhaps be aware that English boys are educated in this fashion,
+nowadays.  At a public school it is considered `bad form' to be
+enthusiastic on any subject.  `Not bad' or `pretty decent' are the
+superlatives of praise, and anything more emphatic is sure to be
+snubbed.  Perhaps I have been too apt a disciple in that school."
+
+"I call it a hateful school! and if I had a hundred sons I would not let
+one of them be trained under such an influence.  If a boy is not to be
+enthusiastic when he is young, when will he be, pray?  Youth is the time
+for noble dreams, for enthusiasm which carries all before it.  It is the
+enthusiasm of youth which keeps the world moving.  None of your languid
+half-measures for me!" declaimed Nan dramatically, backing into a
+flower-bed in her earnestness, and trampling half a dozen begonias
+beneath her heels.  "Life is real--life is earnest!"
+
+"It is indeed," cried Gervase, laughing; "and so, if you will permit me
+to say so, is my uncle's gardener, when he is roused!  Begonias, I
+fancy, are his special passion.  Miss Nan, you will have to be friends
+with me whether you will or not, for our natures are so different that
+we could be of infinite service to each other.  You could inspire me
+with your own enthusiasm, and I, in my turn, could curb and restrain
+you."
+
+"But, dear me," cried Nan, "I don't want to be curbed!"  Then she looked
+at the begonias, and her face fell.  "But I suppose, like all
+disagreeable things, it would be good for me; so I'll be friends, if you
+like, Mr Vanburgh, and take my share of the discipline."
+
+"I feel much honoured.  It shall be my endeavour to be as little
+disagreeable as I can," said Gervase Vanburgh, with his courtly bow; and
+thus were the deeds signed in a friendship destined to have far-reaching
+consequences.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
+
+LILIAS INTERFERES.
+
+Nan's compact of friendship with Gervase Vanburgh was announced to the
+family, and received with acclamation by the younger sisters, and with
+shocked disapproval by grown-up Lilias.
+
+"Most improper!" she pronounced it.  "You ought to remember, Nan, that
+you are no longer a child in the schoolroom, and that such an intimacy
+with a man of Mr Vanburgh's age is simply another word for flirtation.
+It is all very well to call it friendship, but everybody knows perfectly
+well what it means!"
+
+She stopped short with an expressive wave of the hands, and Nan glared
+at her with flashing eyes.
+
+"If there is one thing more than another that I loathe--and detest--and
+scorn--and despise," she replied, dropping out each word with vindictive
+emphasis, "it is looking upon every man one meets in the light of a
+possible husband, and taking for granted that you can't be civil to him
+without making a fool of yourself!  I don't know quite what you mean by
+`flirting,' unless it is giggling and making eyes, as some idiotic girls
+do; and I am quite sure that I am in no danger of following their
+example!"
+
+"You know perfectly well, Nan, that it means much more than that; and
+Mr Vanburgh is a man of the world, and understands exactly to what you
+are lending yourself.  Judging by his manner, I should call him an
+accomplished flirt!"
+
+"Very well, then, I will ask him about it on the first opportunity.  I
+will tell him what you say, and find out what his ideas are, before
+things have gone any further."
+
+A gasp of dismay sounded round the schoolroom, for the listeners knew
+that Nan was perfectly capable of putting her threat into words, and,
+moreover, that in her present state of indignation it was certain that
+she intended to do so.  Lilias broke into angry protests, but Nan's icy,
+"Don't be alarmed!  I shall not mention your name," showed that the true
+reason of her discomfiture had been gauged, and she could only hope that
+no opportunity would occur for the putting of such a question before
+Gervase left the Grange.  In this hope, however, she was doomed to be
+disappointed; for Mr Vanburgh invited Nan to tea on the following day,
+and she departed, primed with determination.  It seemed at first that
+she would have no opportunity of broaching the all-important subject;
+but when tea was over, Gervase proposed a walk round the grounds, and
+Nan was no sooner clear of the house than she gave a preliminary little
+cough, and said, in sententious accents--
+
+"Mr Vanburgh, we have agreed to be friends, but I should like to hear,
+as a preliminary measure, exactly your definition of the term.  What is
+a friend?"
+
+Gervase's eyes twinkled and his lips twitched beneath his moustache, but
+he made a gallant attempt at seriousness, and replied--
+
+"A friend is a comrade who is faithful not only in words, but in deeds.
+My friend is one who will make personal sacrifices to ensure my welfare;
+who will not hear me maligned behind my back, but will reprove me to my
+face when I have done wrong.  My friend is one who cares for me for
+myself, apart from my circumstances, and will be most loyal and loving
+in the time of trouble!"
+
+"Bravo!  Bravo!" cried Nan enthusiastically.  "That's good!  I like
+that!  Those are exactly my own sentiments, only I could not have put
+them into words.  I had no idea you were so eloquent.  Now, another
+definition, please.  What is a flirt?"
+
+"A flirt!"  An expression of the most complete amazement passed over
+Gervase Vanburgh's face as he echoed the word, for this was, indeed, the
+last question which he had expected to hear from Nan Rendell's lips.
+
+"You want me to define a flirt?  That is a little more difficult, but I
+will try what I can do.  `One who practises the art of flirting,' the
+dictionary would tell us, with its usual admirable candour, but that
+doesn't seem to give much enlightenment.  A flirt, I should say, is the
+antithesis of a friend, for he affects more than he feels; he flatters
+and makes pretty speeches, while in effect he may be critical and
+disparaging.  He thinks of himself and his own amusement, and is so much
+concerned for the gratification of his own vanity that he often inflicts
+serious wounds on the hearts of others."
+
+"So bad as that?  Horrid things, how I despise them!  I can't imagine
+how people can make themselves so contemptible.  Well, whatever may be
+my faults, I can honestly say I am not a flirt; but some people are so
+suspicious that they are always imagining mischief.  Some one said to
+me--I mean, I've heard it said--that when a man and a girl like you and
+me agree to be friends, it is just another way of beginning a
+flirtation.  It made me very angry when I heard that; but now that I
+have asked you, I am quite satisfied, for it seems impossible to mix the
+two things together.  You can't flatter a person when you have agreed to
+tell him his faults; you can't feign a sentiment which is real.  I knew
+I was right, though I could not argue it out; but for the future I
+sha'n't mind a bit when you say nasty things to me, for I shall feel
+they are a proof of friendship; and I shall find fault with you on every
+possible occasion, just to show that I am not flirting, and have only
+your own good at heart."
+
+Nan stopped short, quite out of breath with eagerness, and Gervase
+looked at her with a scrutinising smile.
+
+"So!" he was saying to himself, "Somebody said, did she?  I wish
+Somebody would mind her own business, and not put foolish ideas into
+your innocent little head.  Somebody has her own hands pretty full, I
+imagine, and might be better employed looking after her own affairs;"
+but aloud he said simply--
+
+"We will make a compact that we will never flirt with each other, but be
+the truest and most candid of friends; and, to begin as we mean to go
+on, lay your instructions upon me now for my conduct during my absence.
+You know my life--an idle one, unfortunately--living in my own place,
+among my own tenants, in a sleepy little corner of the earth, which
+affords no opportunity for adventure.  I fear I shall come back with no
+heroic deeds to recount!"
+
+  "`Do the work that's nearest,
+  Though it's dull at whiles,
+  Helping, when you meet them,
+  Lame dogs o'er the stiles!'"
+
+quoted Nan impressively.  "That's one of my pet verses, which I quote to
+comfort myself when I am burning to do great deeds, and have to hem
+dusters instead.  Be thankful you are a man, and have not to hem
+dusters; and try to take an interest in your tenants, and help them over
+their stiles.  I'm sure many of them are lame, and longing for you to
+come to their aid; and really and truly it would do you all the good in
+the world to think of something beside yourself!"
+
+"I have never yet found any one who interested me so much; but I will
+make the effort.  And for yourself--look where you are going, think what
+you are doing, be a trifle more circumspect in coming downstairs and
+bicycling round corners, and I will hope to meet you again in health and
+strength and with as few broken limbs as may be at the end of another
+month.  Goodbye, little friend!  All good be with you!"
+
+He held out his hand, and smiled upon her in the slow, kindly fashion
+which already seemed familiar in her eyes, and Nan felt a sudden warmth
+at her heart, as at the realisation of a new joy in life.
+
+"Good-bye," she cried heartily; "and I'm glad I promised.  I'm glad we
+are going to be friends."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
+
+JIM RETURNS.
+
+"In work, in work, in work alway, let my young days be passed, that I
+may fade away and die, as I am doing f-ast!" sighed Kitty Maitland one
+afternoon a month later, as she sat in the porch-room, surrounded with a
+mountain of needlework, on which she was laboriously stitching labels,
+while the elder girls consulted together as to prices, and Elsie plied
+an iron at a side-table, smoothing away disfiguring creases and
+crumples.  It was amazing to see the quantity of work which had been
+gathered together, and nobody was more surprised at the amount than the
+workers themselves.  When the contents of drawers, ottomans, and
+cupboards had been gathered together and laid on the table, the girls
+had gasped with amazement.  Who could have believed that their little
+efforts could have achieved such a whole?  Who could have credited that
+friends would have come forward with such generous and ready help?
+During the last few days parcels had arrived by every post, and from the
+most unexpected sources; while good, kind Maud had come home from Paris
+with a box full of spoils from the Louvre and Bon Marche.  Lilias
+declared that her heart leapt within her when she reflected that she had
+originated the beneficent scheme; but Nan vowed that it made her tired
+even to look at the things, and reflect how hard-worked she must have
+been; and Kitty, as has been seen, went in absolute fear of her life!
+
+"I never want to see another pin-cushion so long as I live!" she
+announced tragically, as she tacked the label on the last of these
+useful articles, and tossed it impatiently to her companions.  "If you
+charge more than one and six for that beauty, it's a cheat, for it's a
+regular museum of odds and ends.  Heigho! this grows monotonous.  Let me
+go out into the garden and begin preparations there.  My master mind is
+wasted sitting here sewing on labels.  I want scope--variety!"
+
+"You can't get it then, until you have finished the work on hand.  It
+ought not to matter to you what you do, so long as you are helping
+forward," said Lilias severely.  "To-morrow morning will be plenty of
+time to arrange the tables."
+
+"If it is fine!  I am sorry to discourage you, but it is raining
+already.  I see five drops on the window-pane," announced Elsie in a
+tone of satisfaction, born of the remembrance that she had "told them
+so!" months ago, and that they had refused to believe her; but her
+triumph was short-lived, for the girls only laughed at her five drops,
+called her their "faithful croaker," and altogether played such havoc
+with her dignity that she retired within her shell in displeasure.  Had
+the occasion been less important, she would have flown to her room to
+pour out her woes to the ever-sympathetic diary; but no personal slight
+could be allowed to interfere with work to-day, for at four o'clock Jim
+would arrive, and never should it be said that the Rendell girls were
+engaged on their own devices when the one and only brother returned to
+his home!  The first few hours after Jim's arrival could be spent in no
+other way than gazing upon him, in drinking in his words, and hanging
+around him in adoring admiration.
+
+By four o'clock the porch-room was abandoned, and each sister, attired
+in her best blouse and freshest skirt, was craning her head out of the
+dining-room window, while Kitty Maitland hovered in the background,
+scarcely less excited than themselves.  He came.  He stepped out of the
+fly, paid the cabman, and lounged up the path, lifting his head to nod
+in patronising fashion to his adorers.  He was no Apollo of beauty, no
+Samson of strength, but just an ordinary-looking young man in an
+ordinary grey suit, with ordinary irregular features redeemed from
+plainness by an expression of quizzical good humour; yet each of the
+eight beholders gave a gasp of adoration as she beheld him.  His
+mother's eyes swam with tears as she embraced her boy; Maud felt a ray
+of pure, unselfish happiness; even Lilias overlooked the fact that his
+collar was of an unfashionable shape in the delight of meeting.  As for
+the younger girls, they fell upon him, and hugged and kissed, and kissed
+and hugged again, until he was obliged to beat them off with his long
+grey arms.
+
+"Now, then!  Now, then!  Leave a fellow alone!  I won't stand being
+mauled to death!" cried the ungrateful male, scrubbing his cheek with
+his handkerchief, as if contaminated by the touch of so many feminine
+lips.  "Take it easy, and I'll speak to each in turn, but I can't tackle
+the bundle together.  Where's Maud?  Where's my Maud?  Come over here,
+Maud, and don't let these youngsters keep you in the background!
+Holloa, Nan, what's the matter with your back hair?  Done it up, eh?
+Doesn't look half so well, you know, but I suppose you take it out in
+honour and glory.  Best respects, Lilias; how's the young man?  You
+kiddies are getting too tall--that's what's the matter with you.  I
+shall feel quite an old man at this rate.  Do you mean to say that is
+`Cath-er-ine Maitland' I see before me?  Kitty, my own!  How _large_ you
+have grown!"
+
+"Jim, you rude man!  Behave, if you can!" retorted Kitty with admirable
+promptitude.  It was an old habit of these two to converse in couplets,
+though Kitty lived in chronic dread of an hour when she should fail to
+invent an appropriate reply.  Her present success filled her with
+satisfaction, and evoked a burst of laughter from her companions; and
+though Jim rolled his eyes at her in threatening manner as he entered
+the drawing-room, he refrained from a further effort, and devoted his
+attention to the admirable tea provided for his benefit.  His sisters
+waited upon him obsequiously, while his mother sat with folded hands
+gloating over the sight of the tall, masculine figure seated in state on
+the centre of the sofa.  What joy to behold him again--her only son, her
+pride, her darling!  How she glorified him, and exulted in him, and
+rejoiced in every evidence of his beautiful manhood!  The sight of the
+thick-soled boots gave her a positive thrill of joy; she looked unmoved
+at the mud on the carpet, and did not even wince when he crumpled her
+best silk cushion behind his back.
+
+Jim looked across, caught her glance, and flashed back an answering
+message which made her heart swell with joy.  Her boy loved her, and had
+no fear to meet his mother's eye!  That was all she wanted to know, and
+she knew it without further questioning.  Jim was not given to words;
+and even if he wished to speak, how could the poor boy _get_ a chance,
+with seven excited girls all talking to him at the same moment?
+
+Jim listened blankly for some moments before he could understand the
+drift of the remarks, but gradually the words "Sale" and "Bazaar"
+disentangled themselves from the clamour and awoke a dim remembrance.
+
+"Oh, the sale for the Mission!  You did tell me something about it!
+Coming off to-morrow, is it?  That's a bore!  Why didn't you get it over
+before I came?"
+
+The girls shrieked aloud in dismay, and, under cover of their protests,
+Maud whispered an eager--
+
+"Take an interest in it, do!  They have worked so hard, poor dears, and
+they want you to help!"--which had the effect of rousing him to the
+importance of the position.
+
+"All right, girls, I'll see you through!" he announced, with the self-
+confidence which a man assumes as if by instinct in discussions with his
+womenkind.  He had the vaguest ideas of what was expected, no knowledge
+at all of the difficulties of the position; but it never occurred to him
+to doubt his own ability to overcome these difficulties, and put the
+final triumphant touch on the girls' labours.
+
+"I'll see you through!" he repeated; and his sisters chorused their
+thanks and murmured grateful acknowledgments, while Kitty Maitland kept
+silent and eyed him askance through her spectacles, registering a vow to
+speak faithfully on the subject of masculine vanity on the first
+convenient opportunity.
+
+The next morning each of the six Rendell girls awoke with a start and a
+shiver of dismay.  What had happened?  For a moment they could not tell,
+yet a cloud of depression was there; and then, alas! in each case a
+glance at the window answered the question.  Down fell the rain,
+splashing the panes, soaking the trees, turning the paths into pools of
+water, weighing down the heads of flowers, and scattering blossoms over
+the grass.  Alas and alas! it was almost too dreadful to be believed,
+that after weeks of fine weather such a downpour should time itself to
+arrive on the very day of the long-expected sale.
+
+"If Elsie says, `I told you so!'  I shall do her an injury.  I shall--I
+know I shall!  I sha'n't be able to help it!" protested Nan; but Elsie
+made no such statement.  To do her justice, she deeply regretted her
+prophecy, and felt as much distressed as if she were to blame for its
+fulfilment, while her morbid mind had much ado to countenance such
+unreasonable behaviour on the part of Providence.
+
+"I don't understand why it is allowed to rain when so much depended on
+good weather!  The work won't look half so well cramped up in the house,
+and we can make no money on the river, and the people who live at a
+distance will think it too wet to turn out, and it will all be a dead,
+dismal failure.  It seems to me very strange that we should try to do a
+good deed only to be frustrated by something over which we have no
+control," she lamented; and though the other girls snubbed her promptly,
+it was difficult to banish the same thought from their minds.  If only,
+only it had kept fine, how different it would have been, and with what
+glee and zest they would have set about their preparations!  As it was,
+they were all more or less depressed, and had it not been for Jim's
+presence they would have been a sorry company; but Jim rose to the
+occasion with such a succession of quips and jests, such schoolboy
+tricks and merry whistlings, as could not fail to be infectious.  He was
+not much use, so far as arranging the work was concerned; but, as he
+himself expressed it, he played the part of beast of burden, dragging
+tables into the library, fitting them together to take the place of
+stalls, and undertaking a dozen onerous duties.  With the best will in
+the world, however, it was impossible to make the room larger than it
+was, or to prevent an amount of crowding which left many precious
+treasures hidden from sight, instead of being displayed in the sunshine
+of the garden.  The girls sighed, and resolutely turned their eyes from
+the window; and thus it happened that certain things took place which
+they were far from suspecting.  Whether the rain had spent its strength,
+or was put to shame by the sight of the mischief it had already wrought,
+it would be difficult to say; but certain it was that the downpour
+changed gradually to a drizzle, the drizzle grew lighter and lighter
+until it ceased altogether, the clouds rolled away to the east, and
+through the grey of the sky there broke a feeble, struggling light.
+Brighter and brighter it grew, stronger and stronger, until of a sudden
+a ray of sunshine danced across the floor of the room, and electrified
+its occupants in the midst of their work.
+
+"What's that?  What's that?  The sun!  The sun!" cried every one in
+chorus, and a stampede was made to the door to see if the good omen
+could possibly be true.  The ground was soaking with moisture, but oh,
+the freshness, the sweetness, the delightful earthiness of the scent
+which greeted their nostrils!
+
+"Mff!" cried Nan, opening her mouth wide to draw in deep breaths.
+
+"Ouf!" gasped Agatha rapturously.
+
+"Do my eyes deceive me?  Has it actually stopped raining?" cried
+Christabel elegantly; and Jim executed a jig of triumph on the doorstep.
+
+"It has stopped indeed!  The clouds have rolled away, the sun is coming
+out; in another hour it will be beaming, and you will have such a day as
+you have not had for weeks past.  I told you so!  If you had only
+listened to me, you would have been spared all your misery.  I told you
+so--"
+
+"Excuse me!  You did nothing of the kind.  You remarked to me on my
+arrival that it looked `Jolly bad, and that it was going to be a brute
+of a day,'" interrupted Kitty severely; but Jim affected a convenient
+deafness.
+
+"Now then," he cried, "all hands to the pumps!  I'll set James to work
+to mow the lawn, and by the time it is cut and swept and the sun has
+shone on it for a couple of hours it will be as dry as tinder.  We'll
+have the paths swept too, and put a few planks across where the water
+has settled, and all will be as right as a trivet.  Put on thick boots,
+and set to work to undo all you have done this morning.  There is no
+time to lose!"
+
+There was not, indeed; but willing hands made light work, and a more
+cheery band of workers it would have been difficult to find.  To see Nan
+rushing in and out of the house, clad in a short bicycling skirt, with
+snow-shoes covering her slippers, and Jim's cap stuck on the back of her
+head, was a sight funny enough to have cheered the most melancholy of
+patients; but when she executed a dance of triumph before her completed
+stall, her sisters held their hands to their sides in convulsions of
+laughter.  A deeper laugh joined in with theirs, a lazy musical laugh,
+which could only have come from one person; and Nan, hearing it, wheeled
+round fully prepared to see Gervase Vanburgh standing before her.  Not
+one whit disconcerted did she appear at the sight; but, holding out her
+skirt on either side, so as to display the huge cloth boots to the
+fullest advantage, she dropped him a curtsey and cried, "Pleased to see
+you, sir!  I hope you admire me!"
+
+"I do!" said Gervase in his soft drawl; and there was an accent of
+sincerity in his voice which brought Jim's eyes upon him in curious
+scrutiny.  A word from Lilias had introduced him to this heir of the Mr
+Vanburgh of whom he had heard so much, and now he eyed him narrowly,
+forming his own swift conclusion.
+
+"Dandified!  Affected!  Fine face, though; good expression!  Decent
+fellow, I should say, if the nonsense were knocked out of him.
+Uncommonly pleased to see Nan, too.  This must be looked into!"  Then he
+was obliged to laugh again at the downright fashion in which his sister
+demanded the reason of the stranger's sudden appearance.
+
+"What have I come for?"  Gervase raised his hand deprecatingly.  "To see
+if I could be of any use, of course.  My uncle was anxious to know if he
+could lend anything in the way of tents or bunting, or if you would like
+one of his gardeners to come across and help your man.  A hamper of
+strawberries is to be sent over presently, with the palms and plants,
+and the cook is concocting something very special in the shape of ices,
+but you are to ask for anything and everything you want.  He is most
+anxious to help."
+
+"Bless him!" cried Nan devoutly.  "Give him my love, and say that I
+shall thank him on my bended knees the moment the rush is over.  The
+gardener would be most useful, for James has more than he can do, and we
+are all taken up with our own special departments."
+
+"And for myself?  Can I do nothing to help you?  I came last night on
+purpose for this sale, so I hope you will make me of use."  He looked at
+Nan as he spoke, but it was Lilias who replied, taking him at his word,
+with an assurance which virtually monopolised him for the entire
+afternoon.
+
+"Oh, thank you so much; then will you please help me in the punt?  I am
+going to take out small parties at sixpence a head, and intended to ask
+Jim to help me; but as he knows the people, it would be better if he
+were free to walk about, and make himself agreeable.  Will you walk down
+to the river with me now, and have a little practice?  Jim will send
+across for the gardener, and we ought to try how we get on together,
+oughtn't we?"
+
+"Certainly we ought.  It is most necessary," replied Gervase, and his
+face was absolutely devoid of expression.  Whether he was disappointed
+or pleased, annoyed or elated, it was impossible to guess, but he turned
+aside without another word and followed Lilias down the path which led
+riverwards.
+
+By three o'clock preparations were completed, and everything done that
+could be thought of to exhibit house and garden in their most favourable
+light.  In the drawing-room the best cushions and table-covers were
+displayed in all their glory; in the dining-room the table was set out
+with the precious china tea-service, which saw the light only on festive
+occasions, while every silver article was polished up to reflecting
+point.  Seven girls robed in robes of spotless white flitted to and fro
+in the garden, while Japanese umbrellas made picturesque splashes of
+colour amongst the green.  The visitors were polite enough to declare
+that it was well worth paying the admission fee to see so pretty a
+scene, and were altogether in such an affable frame of mind that they
+were the easiest of preys.  Nan's objects of "bigotry and virtue" were
+speedily purchased, while Kitty and Christabel did a roaring trade in
+toffee and confectionery.  Agatha looked wistfully at their empty stalls
+while she displayed pinafores and petticoats to the county visitors,
+heard them murmur "Very useful!" and rustle on without dropping a
+solitary sixpence into her box; but she consoled herself by the
+reflection that her turn would come later, when the villagers arrived to
+make their purchases, and meantime frequent doses of strawberries and
+fruit salad helped to sustain drooping spirits.
+
+Elsie smiled pensively across a mountain of fancy articles, Maud helped
+her mother to receive the newcomers, Jim flirted violently with all the
+prettiest girls, and Lilias was a vision of loveliness as she punted
+admiring crews up and down the stream.
+
+Gervase Vanburgh had attired himself for his work in the most immaculate
+of flannels, and as he stood behind his companion plying his long pole,
+it is safe to say that every feminine beholder remarked to her own heart
+that the young people were made for each other, and that it would be a
+sin to divide such a beautiful couple!  It was true that there was some
+talk of an engagement to an old family friend, but as it was not
+officially announced it could not be binding, and dear Lilias would do
+well to reconsider her position, now that this charming stranger had
+appeared upon the scene!
+
+Dear Lilias smiled back with sweet unconsciousness as she met her
+friends' glances, but she was at no difficulty to read their meaning,
+and heaved a sigh for the contrariety of fate.  If only, only, it had
+been Gervase instead of Ned--or rather, if the positions of the two men
+could be reversed!  It would be delightful to float along the stream of
+life as they were even now floating down this sheltered river, a
+charming companion by her side, the eyes of friends turned admiringly
+upon her.  How different from the life before her in the bleak North-
+country town, with poverty and anxiety for daily guests, and Ned's worn
+face looking sadly at her from across the table!
+
+Lilias shivered for all the blazing sunshine, and her heart swelled with
+anger.  It was not fair, it was not right that her future should be
+blighted in this fashion.  Ned should realise that she was not bound by
+a promise given in completely different circumstances!  It was some days
+since she had heard from him, for his letters had been less frequent of
+late; and though at the bottom of her heart she knew that her own chilly
+replies were to blame for this diminution of her lover's ardour, she
+chose to count his silence as still another offence.  He was neglecting
+her, and she would not stand it.  Like a flash of inspiration it darted
+into her head that she would free herself from this entanglement while
+there was still time.  It would seem unwomanly to desert a man in the
+hour of misfortune, but she would act at once, and not wait until the
+worst happened.  She would tell her mother that she was not happy; and
+though Mrs Rendell might disapprove her past promise, she would never
+persuade her to keep it in the circumstances.  Yes, yes! she would be
+free, she must be free, and then--who could say what would happen then?
+The long summer lay before her, with its intimate friendship with one of
+the richest and most charming of his sex.  Lilias raised her head with a
+gesture of determination, and met Gervase Vanburgh's eyes fixed steadily
+upon her.  His glance did not waver as it met hers, and she blushed
+beneath it with a new and strange feeling of discomfiture.  It was as
+though that steady gaze had pierced beneath the surface, and read her
+poor, unworthy thoughts.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
+
+THE GARDEN SALE.
+
+"Forty-three pounds seven and twopence, nearly fifty pounds, my
+darlings, in solid coin of the realm, and all of our amassing!" cried
+Nan three hours later, as the last visitor drove away from the door of
+Thurston House, and the contents of the cash-boxes were counted over by
+half a dozen eager workers.  "Here's a triumph for us, for our hopes
+never soared above a modest twenty pounds, and where it has all come
+from, I don't know!  A great deal of work is left, so that, I fear me,
+our friends must have wasted their substance on eating and drinking and
+riotous living, as exemplified by sails in the punt.  I could have sold
+my carvings three times over, and the compliments which were showered
+upon me I would blush to repeat!  My cheeks ache with smiling polite
+acknowledgments, and indeed I'm nothing but a mass of aches from head to
+foot.  How on earth do poor girls manage to stand behind a counter all
+day, and not snap off the customers' heads?  My poor feet are in a
+lamentable condition!"
+
+"I'm sorry to hear it; but they look, if you will allow me to say so,
+considerably better than they did a few hours ago," said Gervase,
+glancing at the white shoes with an approving smile.  "Why don't you sit
+down, if you are so tired?  There is a delightful seat waiting under
+that tree, and no more work to do, so that I should say the sooner you
+take possession of it the better!"
+
+"Oh yes, yes.  Let's all go!" gushed Agatha, leading the way onward,
+unconscious of Gervase's look of dismay.  "Let's go and rest, and talk
+it all over!  The best part of an entertainment is when the people go,
+and you can quiz them, and make remarks, and--"
+
+"Eat up the scraps!" concluded Kitty aptly, seizing a plate of cakes
+from a table as she passed, and illustrating her words with the aid of
+the daintiest morsel she could select.  Christabel ejaculated "Kittay!"
+in a tone of dignified remonstrance; but the protest was for form's sake
+merely, for hers were the next pair of hands to rob the dish, and it was
+neither _one_ macaroon, nor two, which satisfied her appetite.
+
+"I really think it has been a great success," she said, munching away,
+and using an even greater amount of emphasis than usual in her elation
+of spirits.  "The people behaved splendidly!  Miss Shorter's behaviour I
+consider simply _noble_!  Do you know what she did?  Refused to buy
+anything at all, my deahs, until every one else had chosen, and then
+went about buying up all the old rubbish which no one would have.  It
+would have made you _weep_ to see her collection of atrocities, and the
+old dear beamed away as if she were quite delighted.  I call it
+Christian to buy straw spill-boxes and cork frames for the good of your
+fellow-creatures!"
+
+"But think of the ni-ice little fire they will make when the weather
+turns chilly!" said Jim wickedly, as he jolted Chrissie's elbow, jerked
+the plate out of Kitty's hand, and made a snap at Agatha's cake, held
+temptingly before him.  He could never by any chance sit near the girls
+without teasing them in some such schoolboy fashion; and though they
+made a great show of indignation, they would in reality have been much
+disappointed if he had taken them at their word.  In the present
+instance all three girls fell upon him at once, and, having reduced him
+to a state of submission, continued their song of jubilation.
+
+"We took five pounds at the refreshment stall alone.  It would make a
+scandal in the parish if I divulged how many plates of strawberries the
+vicar ate.  Mrs Bolter bought up all the macaroons.  `Home-made, my
+dear?  X-ellent!  I must really beg the recipe.'  Mrs Booth asked the
+price of everything, and sniffed, and walked away.  What a woman!  Mrs
+Raleigh seemed quite indignant because I had no eggs.  `Dear me!  I
+quite _counted_ on getting fresh eggs!'  Mr Vanburgh had only one cup
+of tea.  I don't call that helping the cause of charity!"
+
+"I was busy in another direction, and if I neglected the tea, I did my
+duty nobly by the lemonade.  I am afraid we did not make very much
+money, but, considering the low rates, it came to more than I expected.
+How much did we take altogether, Miss Lilias?"
+
+"Two pounds, one and sixpence; and all pure profit, remember!  We had no
+outlay to deduct," replied Lilias, with the shrewd little air of
+business which contrasted so strangely with her child-like looks.
+"Looking at it in that light, I think ours was the most profitable of
+all the departments."
+
+"And I made nothing!  I feel quite guilty among you all, for I took not
+a single coin the whole afternoon," said Maud the modest; but Jim would
+not allow his favourite sister to decry herself in his presence, and was
+up in arms in a moment in her defence.
+
+"And why not, pray?  Because you were doing the thankless work, as you
+always are, and fielding for every one else.  That was my task, too; and
+let me tell these young people that they have to thank us for their
+success.  You tackled the dowagers, and put them into a good temper by
+asking after their ailments, and I managed the girls.  Bless their
+pretty hearts, they would do anything for me!  You should have heard me
+complimenting 'em, and quoting poetry by the yard, and all the while
+luring 'em on towards the fancy stall.  Then I'd nothing to do but
+remark, `See that cosy?  I drew the design.'  `Observe that cushion?
+that's my favourite colour,' and they fairly jostled each other in their
+eagerness to buy it.  It was our gentle influence behind the scene which
+helped you on, young women; and don't you forget it."
+
+Maud smiled; but the smile flickered out all too quickly, as her smiles
+had a habit of doing nowadays, and her brother glanced at her sharply.
+Maud was not herself, and he feared that he knew too well the reason of
+the change.  The news of Ned Talbot's engagement to Lilias had smitten
+him dumb with surprise; but as none of the home letters breathed a hint
+of a like feeling, he had tried to persuade himself that he had been
+mistaken in his earlier surmises.  This had been easy to do, for Master
+Jim was not given to distressing himself unnecessarily; but since his
+return home his fears had sprung into life again in unwelcome fashion.
+When Maud returned to the house he rose as if to follow, but, changing
+his mind, turned back and took possession of Kitty Maitland instead.
+
+"What is the matter with my Maud?" he asked her the moment they had
+turned a corner and were safely out of hearing.  "She hasn't half the
+life and go in her that she had last time I was home.  What have you
+been doing to her, I should like to know?"
+
+Kitty elevated her eyebrows until they were almost lost to sight beneath
+her curling hair.
+
+"Personally," she said, "personally I have treated her with every
+consideration.  Maud is Maud, and no one in this neighbourhood would
+dare to treat her otherwise.  Of course if other people--from a
+distance--choose to make lunatics of themselves, and--and--"
+
+"All right--you need say no more!  I thought as much; and as you and I
+had discussed the situation together last year, I wanted to see if your
+ideas agreed with mine.  I could have sworn we were right, and can't
+imagine how this muddle has come about.  It's a big mistake anyhow, and
+some one will find it out before long, or my name's not James Rendell.
+It's not my business, I suppose, but I--I should uncommonly like to kick
+somebody, just as a small relief to my feelings!"
+
+"Oh, so should I--badly; but I'm afraid I couldn't kick hard enough,"
+said Kitty humbly.  "The worst of it is you have to be civil, because to
+show your suspicions would be the most unkind thing you could do.  I
+know Nan agrees with us, and I think Elsie too, but the others seem
+quite pleased and satisfied."
+
+"Well, let it be a lesson to you, never to allow yourself to be
+influenced by looks.  `Appearance is deceitful, and beauty vain,'"
+quoted Jim sententiously.  "That Vanburgh fellow, for instance, is, I
+suppose, better-looking to the casual glance than I am myself, but I
+don't need to point out to you the infinite superiority of my character.
+Whenever, my estimable Katherine, you meet with a man who is popularly
+styled handsome, take my word for it, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing,
+and ought to be avoided.  People like you and me, with noble hearts and
+ugly faces,"--but at this point even Kitty's forbearance came to an end,
+and she stalked off to the house in a fume of indignation.  Feminine
+fourteen does not find the consolation it should in nobility of
+character at the cost of plainness of feature!
+
+Gervase and Nan, left alone on the garden seat, had meantime turned
+towards each other with inquiring smiles.  It was the first time they
+had found themselves alone, and each was anxious to question the other
+concerning the time of absence.
+
+"Well," quoth he, "and how have you been, and what have you been about
+all this long month?"
+
+"Quite well, thank you; and I'm proud to say, slaving like a nigger for
+the good of my fellow-creatures.  An ignorant man can hardly realise the
+amount of work it takes to get up a sale like this, but I shall bear the
+marks to my grave.  Look at that!" and she held out towards him a pair
+of sunburned hands, shapely enough, but disfigured with sundry scars and
+bruises inflicted by hammer and chisel.  Her look of pride in her wounds
+was comically in contrast to her companion's distress, as his glance
+wandered from the little hard-worked fingers to his own white hands,--
+almond-nailed, soft-palmed, taper-fingered, the hands of a man who has
+lived an idle life, and known little or nothing of the reality of work.
+Nan's eyes followed his, and she laughed in amused fashion.  "Mine look
+like the man's, and yours like the woman's!  The contrast makes mine
+browner than ever.  How do you manage to keep them so white?"
+
+"Don't!" said Gervase shortly.  "I am not at all proud of them, Miss
+Nan.  They have been useless enough hitherto, and if they find any work
+now, it is more your doing than their own.  I have tried to turn over a
+new leaf since I saw you last, and to remember your axiom--"
+
+"And did you find them?  Did you help them over?  Were many lame, and
+not able to walk?"
+
+"Crowds!  Dozens!  Scores!  The whole parish seems hobbling; and I
+foresee that that stile will keep me busy, now that I have begun.  It
+was astonishing how many cripples seemed waiting for my advent, and what
+a lot of `helping over' they required.  When they had recovered from the
+shock of discovering that I was showing some interest in their affairs,
+they were not at all bashful about stating their desires.  One man
+wanted a new roof to his cottage--his wife was rheumatic, and objected
+to the rain coming through on her bed.  I had previously refused the
+request through my agent, but when I went to inspect the place, I could
+not deny that repairs were needed.  The woman showed me her fingers,
+too--most unpleasant!  I would rebuild the whole cottage rather than
+look at them again!"
+
+He shrugged his shoulders, with a relapse into his old affectation of
+manner, which brought Nan's eyes upon him with a flash of indignation;
+but she refrained from remonstrance, as, after all, he had granted her
+request; and he continued his story uninterrupted.
+
+"Another man begged for an extra strip of land where an invalid daughter
+might keep chickens, and so contribute towards the family-purse.  Three
+widows had sons to place, and seemed to think that a word from me would
+be sufficient to secure positions with handsome salaries; half a dozen
+women demanded letters to hospitals.  The school marm wanted an
+additional window in her cottage, which is about as gloomy a little hole
+as I have had the pleasure of entering; and the vicar, hearing reports
+of my new-found generosity, requested a donation towards a new organ,
+felt he would be the better for a second curate, and remarked _en
+passant_ that he had had a lifelong desire to visit the Holy Land.  I
+promised to pay the last hundred pounds for the organ when he had made
+up the rest of the sum, said that the parish was too small to allow two
+whole curates and myself to live together in peace and harmony; and
+congratulated him on his good fortune in not having visited Palestine.
+I have, and ever since my return have been strenuously striving to
+forget, and work back to my old dreams.  He went away saddened and
+surprised; but as he is neither poor nor hard-worked, I did not consider
+that he came within my category.  I was beginning to feel a trifle
+overworked, and was quite relieved to get away for a rest!"
+
+"I think you have done splendidly, and am sure you have enjoyed it, in
+spite of all you may say.  It gives one such a lovely, warm, glowey
+feeling to help other people!  On the rare occasions when I have
+succeeded in doing it, I have just longed to be a philanthropist, for I
+felt so deliriously happy and pleased with myself.  You can't look me in
+the face and deny that you have been far happier this last month, and
+far less bored and cynical?"
+
+Gervase laughed, and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Have it your own way!  I deny nothing.  I am considerably the loser
+both in time and money by the new arrangement, but perhaps that is
+wholesome discipline.  I don't know that I have experienced much of the
+`glow' as yet; which is, I suppose, because I have not your affection
+for my fellow-creatures; but I hope it is yet to come, for it sounds an
+attractive sensation."
+
+"Don't laugh at me," said Nan severely.  "I said glowey, and I mean
+glowey!  No other word expresses the sensation.  You'll understand some
+day when you have it yourself, and be sorry that you made fun of me.  As
+for liking your people, the more you help them, the more interested you
+will feel, until in the end you will positively love them as if they
+were your own relatives."
+
+Gervase looked dubious.
+
+"If only they would refrain from exhibiting their deformities!  I do so
+strongly object to looking at disagreeable objects," he sighed
+plaintively; then suddenly his face grew grave, and he added in a
+different voice, "It will be a long time, I fear, before I can reach
+your standard of loving help.  So far it is a duty only, and a
+distasteful one in to the bargain; but I will persevere, in hope of
+better things.  There is one person in the parish who has been set in
+the right way through your instrumentality.  If the other efforts have
+failed, this, at least, has been a success, and it was time that some
+one took him in hand.  An idle, loafing rascal who thought of nothing
+but his own comfort, and was the biggest waster in the village.  He has
+set to work now, and he shall stick to it, or I'll know the reason why!
+I'll keep a stern hand on him, Nan, for your sake; for it was you, not
+I, who set this ball a-rolling, and I am only the executor of your
+orders.  It is you who have played the good angel in his life, and he
+shall have no chance of slipping back."
+
+"But you mustn't be too stern with the poor young man.  You must make
+allowances, and be patient and forbearing.  I shall be so interested to
+know how he goes on.  It is nice to have a _protege_, and feel that one
+has had some part in his reformation.  Tell me his name, so that I may
+know what to call him."
+
+Gervase looked at her curiously.  The eager face was without a suspicion
+of embarrassment, but it coloured over with a quick flush of surprise as
+she listened to his reply.
+
+"His name," Gervase said slowly, "you have heard before.  His name is
+Vanburgh!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
+
+THE BLOW FALLS.
+
+Two days later, Maud was sitting reading in the drawing-room, when the
+door opened, the servant pronounced a name which thrilled her with
+surprise, and, looking up, she beheld Ned Talbot standing before her,--
+Ned Talbot, or the wraith of Ned, for so pale did he appear, so worn and
+haggard, that it needed no words to tell the nature of his visit.
+
+Maud had heard about the anxieties of the last few months, and had
+grieved for Ned in her tender heart, feeling an added bitterness in the
+lot which forbade her the privilege of comforting him; but now it would
+appear that Fate had led them to each other, and even her modesty could
+not mistake the relief in voice and manner as his eyes rested upon her.
+
+"Maud," he cried,--"Maud, it is you!  Oh, this is good, this is better
+than I hoped for, to find you here, and alone!  I was longing for your
+help; but you are so much away nowadays that I seldom see you.  Well,
+Maud, it has come--the end has come!  I have thrown up my post, and have
+to face the world again, and the whole weary fight from the beginning.
+All these years have been wasted; the time has gone, and the money, and
+the strength, and here I am at the end, stranded and beaten!  You may
+wonder how I have the audacity to show myself among you.  If I had any
+pride left, I should have stayed away--"
+
+He broke off with a hard, unnatural laugh, and Maud laid her hand on his
+arm with a soothing gesture, her own trouble forgotten in the necessity
+of soothing his.
+
+"Come and sit down," she said gently.  "Sit down, and tell me all about
+it.  We are not fair-weather friends, Ned, and will only care for you
+the more because you need help.  If you have lost this post, I am sure
+it is from no fault of your own, so you must not be cast down.  Tell me
+about it--Or stay!  Shall I call Lilias?  She is at the Grange, but I
+could send for her at once."
+
+She paused, looking inquiringly into Ned's face, and he hesitated
+painfully, the colour flushing in his thin cheeks, his eyebrows
+twitching nervously.
+
+"I think--not!" he said slowly at last.  "She will hear soon enough, and
+she is so young and inexperienced that she cannot understand.  Let me
+first talk it over with you, Maud, and then--No!  It was no fault of
+mine, though in the last instance it was I who gave in my resignation.
+I could not stay on longer, and keep my self-respect.  Positions were
+forced upon me impossible to any man of honour.  My post was
+deliberately made untenable, and to stay on would have been the act of a
+coward and a scoundrel.  They had got what they wanted out of me, and I
+was of no further use.  It only remained to get rid of me as quickly as
+possible,--and, mark you, by my own doing in the last instance, so that
+they might preserve some appearance of honour before their neighbours!"
+
+"But can such things be?"  Maud wondered incredulously.  "Is it really
+possible that men, calling themselves gentlemen and, I suppose,
+Christians, can be so absorbed in the idea of growing rich that they can
+be so low, so base?  To go to a young fellow who is fighting against
+hard odds, to propose a scheme which looks fair and smooth, to suck his
+brains and steal his business from him, and then--then--to treat him as
+you say, and send him out on the world alone!  Oh, Ned, is it possible?
+One can hardly believe in such wickedness.  Are there many such people
+in your business world?"
+
+"Not many, thank God! but there are a few who are notorious for
+absorbing small firms, and treating their owners as I have been treated.
+They build up huge fortunes, and we are ruined; they succeed, and we
+fail, and the world goes on as usual, and no one sees any difference, or
+takes any thought of the poor fellows who have gone to the wall."
+
+"God does!" said Maud softly.  "God doesn't think they have failed!  In
+His eyes they have succeeded, and are rich, while the others are ruined
+and outcast.  Don't be cast down, Ned--don't lose hope!  God is on your
+side, and has some good purpose behind this trouble.  The clouds are
+dark to-day, and you cannot see it, but in years to come it will be
+plain.  Keep a brave heart, and don't grieve too much over what is past.
+You have the future before you, and you are young and strong.  You
+would not allow any one else but yourself to call you beaten, and I will
+not hear it from your lips."
+
+"Oh, Maud!" cried Ned brokenly, "you always know what to say, you always
+say the right thing!  How can I thank you?  If girls only understood
+what angels they might be to men,--if they would remind us oftener that
+this world is not all,--what a help it would be!  We are out on the
+battlefield, and it is difficult to remember these things, especially
+when we are so hard pressed that our thoughts are engrossed with the
+struggle.  I felt hard and bitter when I came into this room, for it's a
+terrible thing to face ruin,--a girl cannot imagine how terrible, for
+she is shielded from such trouble,--but you have put fresh life into me
+by your sweet words."
+
+Maud smiled faintly, her brows drawn together in painful fashion.  She
+was saying to herself that she knew well what it was to see life robbed
+of its dearest hope, and realising, as many a girl has done before her,
+that one of the sorest features of her trial was that she could neither
+ask nor receive sympathy from her friends.  The reflection brought her
+thoughts back to Lilias, and she was once more about to suggest sending
+a message to the Grange, when the door burst open and Lilias herself
+danced into the room.  What a contrast to the pale and depressed couple
+seated on the sofa!  Just returned from a delightful visit to the
+Grange, love of admiration gratified by Mr Vanburgh's courtesy and
+Gervase's elaborate compliments, her hands full of trophies in the shape
+of flowers and fruit, she looked the impersonation of happiness and
+prosperity, and singularly out of sympathy with her companions.  She was
+half-way across the room before she recognised Ned, and the sudden
+change which then passed over her face was far from flattering to his
+vanity.
+
+"You!" she gasped, in bewilderment.  "Is it you?  When did you come?
+I--I never knew.  You said nothing in your letter about coming."
+
+"No; I wanted to tell you the news myself!"  Ned rose and stood beside
+her, not attempting any lover-like greetings, but holding her hand
+tightly in his own.  His face was pathetic in its wistfulness, and dread
+of the pain which he was about to inflict, but it was in the tone of a
+father speaking to a child that he said gently--
+
+"I have bad news for you, Lilias--the news which I have been dreading.
+I have sent in my resignation to the heads of the firm, and have
+practically said `Goodbye' to the Works.  It is a bad business, and very
+hard on you; but, as Maud has been reminding me, I am young and strong,
+and we must not be cast down by a first failure.  If you will have faith
+in me, and will wait a few years, all will come right yet."
+
+He paused, and Lilias stared at him with incredulous eyes.  Her glance
+wandered from him to Maud, from Maud around the pretty luxurious room,
+through the window to the garden beyond, and finally back to his face.
+Her lips moved, and the words came out in spasmodic snatches.
+
+"You have resigned?  You threw it up?  You did it of your own accord, in
+spite of all I could say--of my wishes and entreaties?  It is your own
+doing?"
+
+Ned dropped the hand which he held in his, and straightened his
+shoulders with a gesture at once proud and determined.  His voice took a
+sharper edge, and the gentleness died out of his face.
+
+"Yes, it is my own doing, Lilias, in this last instance, but you know
+what has driven me to it.  I have told you in what position I was
+placed.  I could not stay on without sacrificing every sense of honour.
+Surely you can understand and sympathise with me in my misfortune?"
+
+Lilias laughed, a high, hysterical laugh, and threw back her head with a
+defiant gesture.
+
+"Oh, I understand--yes!  I have understood all the time.  Your
+ridiculous quixotic notions have ruined your life, and you don't care if
+they ruin mine also.  You think of your own feelings, your own
+discomforts, but you never think of _met_ If you really loved me, you
+would bear a few discomforts for my sake; but no! it must all go, you
+must throw it all away.  I begged, I implored, I did everything that was
+in my power to prevent it coming to this.  You can't deny that I did?"
+
+"No, Lilias, I cannot.  I am bitterly grieved to remember that you have
+systematically urged me to act against my conscience."  It was an
+unexpected answer, almost awful in its unflinching sternness, and Lilias
+greeted it by a burst of weeping.
+
+"Oh yes, yes, blame me! blame me!  It's not enough that you have brought
+this misery upon me, but now you must begin to abuse me to my face!  It
+is cruel and cowardly to turn against me like this!"
+
+"Hush, Lilias, oh, hush, hush!"  Maud stood before her--Maud's fingers
+gripped her arm in remonstrance.
+
+"Think what you are saying.  You are surprised and shocked; but you must
+not, you shall not talk so wildly!  Ned is in trouble, and it is your
+place to comfort him.  He has done what is right, and it is harder for
+him than for you.  He needs your help!"  But Lilias only sobbed the
+louder, making no attempt to give the desired comfort, and Ned said
+sadly--
+
+"I ask no more from you at present, Lilias, than a fair judgment.  Maud
+has given me her sympathy and encouragement, but that seems too much to
+hope for from you.  Try to believe, if possible, that I was not
+indifferent to your interests.  Maud would not allow me to say I had
+failed because I must suffer temporarily for conscience' sake; she
+believes that the day will come when I shall be thankful for this change
+in my circumstances.  Can't you bring yourself to feel the same; to look
+forward to a future when I may meet with success instead of reverse?"
+
+"No, I can't; how can I?  It is contrary to reason.  You said yourself
+that you could never hope to be master again, and situations are so
+difficult to find.  I've heard father talking, and I know.  Sometimes
+men have to wait years and years before they find an opening, and then
+it's a wretched thing with a salary of two or three hundred a year.  And
+you have less chance than many, because your own Works didn't pay, and
+you have left these people after such a short time.  It will count
+against you.  People will think it is your own fault."
+
+"Lilias!" cried Maud again, and this time her voice trembled with anger,
+and her eyes sent out such a flash as her sister had never seen before,
+"how dare you!  How dare you be so cruel!  If it were true a hundred
+times over, how could you have the heart to say so to Ned in the midst
+of his trouble?  For pity's sake, think what you are doing!"
+
+"Don't distress your kind heart, Maud.  It is better that I should know
+exactly what Lilias has in her mind.  She is right in her surmises.  The
+changes will tell against me in public opinion, and it is quite probable
+that I may suffer for them.  I would not for one moment deny it, so you
+see there is no injustice in the accusation.  You are right, Lilias!  My
+chance of being a rich man is sensibly diminished by this last
+misfortune, and it may be years before I can earn even a bare
+competency.  I have never deceived you about my position, and I shall
+not begin now.  I knew that my news would be a blow to you, but I could
+not have believed that you would receive it as you have, without a word
+of kindness or sympathy.  Apart from the question of love, I should have
+thought any woman would have taken pity on a man in the first sharpness
+of his misfortune, and have spared him her reproaches.  Maud has been an
+angel of kindness, but you have had no thought of my sufferings."
+
+Lilias gave a gasp of mingled anger and mortification.  This was what
+she had feared, this was what she had determined to avoid; but once
+again Fate had been too strong for her, and had precipitated the
+calamity before she had had time to obtain her freedom.  Now every one
+would call her heartless and unwomanly; her parents would look coldly
+upon her, she would be branded before the neighbourhood as a girl who
+had forsaken her love when he most needed her devotion.  A great wave of
+anger swept over her, her heart thumped against her side, and her breath
+came fast.  She hardly knew what she was saying, but the words rushed
+out in a breathless string--
+
+"Oh yes, Maud--Maud!  Always Maud!  I'm sick of hearing Maud quoted, and
+held up as a pattern!  Maud is always right, and I am wrong.  Maud is an
+angel, and I am an unwomanly wretch!  Why didn't you get engaged to
+Maud, when you liked her so much better than me?  If I have made a
+mistake, so have you, and you have no right to reproach me.  I'll go
+away and leave you, since I make you so unhappy, and you prefer Maud's
+company to mine."
+
+She was out of the room even as the last word was uttered, and the two
+who were left stared at each other with horrified eyes.  Maud's face was
+crimson, from the tip of her chin to the roots of her hair, but she was
+the first to speak and recover some semblance of composure.
+
+"Oh, don't listen to her!  Don't listen to her!  She does not know what
+she is saying.  She is excited, and has lost her self-control.  In a few
+minutes she will be sorry.  Oh yes, I know she will; she will be
+wretched, and come to beg you to forgive her.  Wait, wait, and don't
+judge her hardly.  She is so young, as you said, and she didn't know
+what she was saying.  Try to forget it."
+
+But Ned sank down in a chair and covered his face with his hands.
+
+"But it is true!" he moaned.  "It is true, and I can't deny it!  Oh, how
+blind I have been--how blind and foolish!  I have ruined my own life as
+well as hers."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
+
+A MILESTONE.
+
+It was all over.  Ned had gone away, and the diamond ring no longer
+shone on Lilias's left hand.  In a storm of tears and sobs she had
+declared to her mother that she neither could nor would keep true to her
+engagement, and Ned had received the intelligence with grave composure.
+
+"She made a mistake!" he said quietly.  "We both made a mistake.  I
+cannot blame her, for I was in fault myself.  What we thought was love,
+was but the attraction of youth and good spirits, which could not stand
+the strain of adversity.  Don't be hard on Lilias, Mrs Rendell.  I
+should be sorry that she should suffer any more on my account.  It has
+been a painful experience for her."
+
+But Mrs Rendell closed her lips in a stern silence, and had no word of
+pity for her daughter.  It shocked her proud heart that one of her girls
+should have behaved in a manner so unworthy the precept which she had
+endeavoured to teach, for she knew well that Lilias would have felt no
+qualms in preparing for her marriage, if Ned's story had been one of
+success instead of failure.
+
+What Mrs Rendell thought she was accustomed to say, and Lilias came
+away from the important interview smarting with mortification and
+wounded vanity.  She tried to think that the worst was over; but the
+bitterest moment was yet to come, when she met her father--the gentlest
+and most forbearing of men, who was so slow to blame that his children
+could count the reproofs of a lifetime on the fingers of one hand--and
+he looked at her with a strange, cold glance, in which was no trace of
+the old fond admiration.
+
+"What's this I hear about you, Lilias?" he asked sternly.  "I'm not
+proud of you, my dear, not proud at all!  I did not think that a
+daughter of mine could have behaved in such an unwomanly manner.  Your
+affection seems good only for fair weather.  Talbot is well rid of such
+a wife!"
+
+It was not much, and it was the only reference to the broken engagement
+which she ever heard from his lips, but it pierced the girl's heart as
+no other reproach could have done.  The relationship between a father
+and a daughter is a very sacred and beautiful one, and the consciousness
+of his pride in her, his barely concealed satisfaction in the admiration
+she excited, had been one of her most cherished joys.  The thought that
+her father was ashamed of her made Lilias wince with pain, nor did her
+sisters' reception of the news help to restore her composure.
+
+Maud's principle in life was to say nothing, if it were impossible to
+say what was agreeable; but Nan made up for this silence by the candour
+of her denunciation.  The two girls came face to face at the top of the
+stairs, an hour after the great news had circulated through the house,
+and mutually stopped to gaze in each other's face.
+
+"W-ell?" queried Lilias timidly.  "You've heard!  Mother has told you.
+What do you--what do you think about it?"
+
+Nan closed her eyes, and tilted her chin in the air.
+
+"Sneak!" she said shortly; and the other started back in astonishment.
+
+"Wh-what do you say?"
+
+"Sneak!  That's what I called you.  It's a mean, sneakish thing to
+desert a man just when he is in trouble and needs all the help he can--"
+
+"It wasn't just then.  I had been thinking of it a long time.  If he had
+stayed away a week longer, I would have spoken to mother all the same.
+I had made up my mind.  You don't understand what you are talking about,
+and you have no right to call me names.  It's vulgar and unladylike."
+
+"I am thankful for that!" cried Nan piously.  "If your behaviour is
+ladylike, I'll be as vulgar as I can.  I'd rather not talk, if you
+please, until I have got over it a little.  I'm afraid of what I may
+say."
+
+She went stalking downstairs, and Lilias turned into the porch-room and
+sat herself down in despair.  Elsie was seated at the table engaged in
+informing the diary of the latest family event, and she turned a look of
+such sympathetic sorrow upon the new-comer, that Lilias felt that here,
+at last, she had found a friend in need.
+
+"My heart is broken, Elsie!" she sobbed tragically.  "Every one has
+turned against me.  Father--mother--Nan--they are all cruel to me.
+Their words cut into my heart!  I can never forget them--never feel the
+same again."
+
+Elsie drew a sigh so long and fluttering that it was almost worthy to be
+ranked as a groan.
+
+"No--never, never!  A blow like this, coming in early youth, will cloud
+and darken all your life.  You can never be a girl again.  The
+remembrance of all you have suffered, and of the life you have wrecked,
+will haunt your dreams, and make you old before your time.  You feel it
+now, but you'll feel it more and more, like a leaden weight pressing
+upon you, crushing out all your joy..."
+
+"Dear me, Elsie, how you talk!  You might be a penny novel, to prose
+away like that.  You are a fine Job's comforter for a poor girl to come
+to in her trouble!  It's hard enough for me as it is, without trying to
+make it worse.  I shall drown myself, if this sort of thing goes on.
+Maud sulking, Nan raving, you croaking!  What a prospect!  And I shall
+have to endure it all my life too, for I shall never marry--now."
+
+"No," said Elsie judiciously, "I suppose not.  Not for love, at least.
+Perhaps, by and by, after years and years, when you are middle-aged, you
+may make a marriage _de convenance_, to some old man who could give you
+a comfortable home.  People often do that in books, I notice, when they
+have had an unfortunate affair in youth.  And look at Mrs Bailey!  Her
+lover was killed in the Crimea, and when she was fifty-two she married
+that nasty old man with the snuff on his beard, and--"
+
+But the rest of the sentence was spoken to the air, for Lilias had fled.
+The prospect of the old man with snuff on his beard was too much for
+her composure, and she rushed into the garden, to see if there, at
+least, she might find the much-desired solitude.
+
+No, not yet! for the summer-house towards which she sped had already
+been occupied by the three schoolgirls, and there they sat staring at
+her with big solemn eyes, as if, forsooth, a girl who had broken off her
+engagement was a new and extraordinary freak of humanity.
+
+Good-natured Agatha made room for the new-comer by her side, and glanced
+sympathetically at the tear-stained face, but, as usual, her remarks
+were not the most tactful in the world.
+
+"Was it really your doing, Lilias?" she inquired, "or was Ned tired of
+you too?  Kitty says he was, and feels sure he will not mind much."
+
+That opened Lilias's eyes with a flash of anger, but Kitty had the
+courage of her opinions, and said stolidly--
+
+"I never considered from the beginning that he was really in love.  I've
+seen lots of engaged people, and he wasn't a bit like them.  He used to
+ask us to go about with you, and be quite disappointed if we wouldn't,
+and most couples like to be alone, and make faces at one another when
+they think you are not looking, to say they wish you would run away.
+I've had experience, for last summer we stayed two months in a
+hydropathic."
+
+"Perhaps he really did care for you at first, but was disappointed when
+he got to know you better!"  This from Christabel; while Agatha chimed
+in with an eager--
+
+"But you are glad, dear, aren't you, to think he is not heart-broken?
+It makes it easier for you when he doesn't care!"
+
+Plainly there was no comfort forthcoming for Miss Lilias from the
+members of her own family!
+
+Meanwhile Jim was seeing his friend off at the railway station, and
+administering such sympathy as was deserved for Ned's business reverses,
+while eclipsing his sisters in candour on the subject of the broken
+engagement.
+
+"If you would be a fool, you must be prepared to suffer for it.  Never
+was more surprised in my life than to hear of it, when it first came
+off.  Thought you had gone off your head.  When I was at home with you
+last, there was no sign of such nonsense.  Can't think what on earth
+possessed you!"
+
+"She was so pretty and charming, and seemed so much interested in all I
+did!  Vanity was at the bottom of it, I suppose.  I was flattered and
+interested, just when I was down on my luck, and needed it most.  I--I--
+I must make a clean breast of it, Jim, and tell you the truth!  Of
+course, it was Maud I cared for first; I can see now that I have loved
+her all through, but she was so reserved with me, and kept me at such a
+distance, that I thought she wanted to show me that I had no chance.
+Then Lilias came home, and I was captivated by her lovely face and
+pretty ways.  She seemed to turn to me for advice and sympathy, to be so
+pleased to see me, so sorry when I left, that--that--ah, well, you know
+the rest!  I was a fool, as I daresay many a man has been before me; and
+though I was miserable enough, I never discovered why, until Lilias
+herself pointed it out.  She accused me of caring for Maud more than for
+her--in Maud's presence, too--when we three were alone together!"
+
+Jim's lips met in a significant whistle.
+
+"The little wretch!  She ought to be shaken!  My poor old Maud, that was
+rough on her.  What did she do or say?"
+
+"Begged me to take no notice, and pleaded for Lilias, like the angel she
+is.  But I was knocked completely over, didn't know what I was doing,
+and told her straight out that it was true.  Perhaps I should not have
+done it, but I could not help myself, and she gave me one look, just
+one!  Oh, Jim, old man, if this crash has shown me the awful mistake I
+was making, it will be indeed a blessing in disguise.  I will work like
+ten men, I will laugh at difficulties, I will do anything and
+everything, if only, only I can win Maud in the end.  You will be my
+friend, won't you?  You will help me, and tell her what I hope?"
+
+"Not if I know it!" returned Jim, with masculine candour.  "You have
+done quite enough mischief for the time, old chap, and had better lie
+low until things have blown over.  I've a great deal too much respect
+for Maud, to suggest that she should adopt you as her lover the moment
+you are dropped by Lilias.  Wait a year or two until you have made your
+position, and then come down and ask her yourself--"
+
+"A year or two!  And meantime she might think I had changed again, and
+had forgotten all about her--That's too much to expect!  I don't ask you
+to say anything just yet, but in time to come you might drop a hint, or
+let her see one of my letters, show her in any indirect way you like
+that I know my own mind at last, and am working towards an end.  It
+isn't much to ask from an old chum--I'd do as much for you if I were in
+your place."
+
+"Humph!" quoth Jim concisely; but his grey eyes sent out a kindly gleam,
+and Ned Talbot went away comforted by the knowledge that his friend
+would be kinder in deed than in word, and that his message would not
+fail to be delivered.
+
+He had another friend at court to whom he gave less thought, but whose
+loyalty was at least as strong as that of her brother.  Nan had her own
+dreams of the future, of which she breathed no word to a living soul,
+but she set herself to work to clear away such difficulties as lay in
+Ned's path, with her accustomed energy and daring.
+
+"If I were a nice old gentleman with heaps of money and nothing to do, I
+would give a good situation to a young fellow who was miserable and ill-
+treated!" she announced to Mr Vanburgh, at the conclusion of the story
+of the broken engagement; and that gentleman chuckled with enjoyment as
+he listened.
+
+"Would you, indeed?  And in what capacity?  I don't quite see what
+situations I have to offer which would meet Mr Talbot's requirements.
+There is a good deal of machinery of one sort and another involved in
+the work of a house like this, but I fear it is hardly the kind which he
+is accustomed to superintend."
+
+"Don't snub me, please.  I'm too reduced.  I don't mean in this house,
+but somewhere else where there are Works like his own.  If you would
+just write to the people and say how clever he is, and what a good
+manager, and that you are sure they would like him!"
+
+"But how can I be sure?  I know nothing about Mr Talbot's business
+capacities, and should hardly recognise him if I met him in the street!"
+
+"But I tell you!  You can trust my word; and every one likes Ned, for he
+is so good and noble.  He didn't want to go into the Works at all, for
+he is one of those quiet, studenty sort of men, who are never so happy
+as when they are in the country, alone with their books and their
+thoughts.  He wanted to be a literary man, but his brother died, and
+there was no one else to help his father, so he gave up his own plans
+for the sake of the family.  That seems to me very hard--to be unselfish
+and take up uncongenial work, and then to meet with nothing but failure
+and disappointment!  I should expect to be rewarded by making piles of
+money, but poor old Ned has lost almost all he has.  Dear, sweet, kind
+Mr Vanburgh, find him another opening--do!"
+
+The old man smiled, and laid his worn fingers caressingly over the
+girl's hand.
+
+"I would do a great deal to please you, Nan, if I could find the way,
+but my word is not so powerful as you imagine.  I am afraid the managers
+of the great factories would pay very little attention to my
+recommendation; but if Mr Talbot is not set on continuing a business
+life, it is possible that something else might be found.  I have a good
+deal of land which will come to Gervase in his turn, and meantime, as he
+engages my stewards for me and takes in hand most of the arrangements,
+you had better speak to him on the subject."
+
+"Oh-oh!" cried Nan, and turned towards the young man with hands clasped
+together in supplication.  "Oh! do you--do you?  Then one of them is a
+bad steward, isn't he?  I am sure he is!  You want a new one; I am sure
+you do!  Ned would make a beauty, for he loves nothing so much as a
+country life.  He is a splendid shot.  Jim saw him knock over twelve
+rocketers running, last time they were out together, and he goes in for
+all kinds of sport.  His father had a beautiful country place when they
+were rich, and he is always talking of what he used to do.  He looks so
+sweet in gaiters, too!  He would make a lovely steward!"
+
+Both men shook with laughter, but Nan's earnestness could not be shaken.
+She was pleading for Maud's future, for Maud's happiness, and neither
+ignorance nor bashfulness had power to check her.  She insisted on the
+wickedness of the present steward with such determination, that Gervase
+was forced to come to his defence.
+
+"Indeed, Nan, he is a most capable and clever fellow.  I've not a word
+to say against him, except that perhaps he is too clever to stay with us
+much longer.  Lord Edgeworth has been advertising for a steward, and I
+think it more than likely that he will get the post.  If he should--"
+
+"He will!  He will!" cried Nan excitedly.  "I feel a conviction.  He
+will get it, and you will offer Ned his place.  It would be defying
+Providence to do anything else.  Oh, how happy I am--how pleased he will
+be!  And is it a pretty house in a garden, big enough for us all to go
+down and stay with him?  How soon will it be settled, so that I can tell
+them at home?"
+
+So determinedly confident did she appear as to the success of her
+scheme, that it seemed an ungenerous act to pour cold water on such
+generous enthusiasm, and each man registered a mental vow to satisfy
+her, if it were within the bounds of possibility.
+
+As his custom was, Gervase escorted the visitor on a tour of inspection
+round the garden before she took her departure, and took advantage of
+the _tete-a-tete_ to express a more ardent sympathy with the home
+trouble than he had cared to show in his uncle's presence.  The broken
+engagement had been no surprise to him, for he had summed up the
+character of Miss Lilias too accurately to have any trust in her
+stability; but it had evidently come as a shock to Nan's unsuspecting
+mind.
+
+"She says now that she has been thinking of it for some time, and he
+says he was dissatisfied; yet neither of them spoke a word, but went
+drifting on and on, waiting upon chance.  I suppose they would have
+married each other if this crash had not come, and regretted it for the
+rest of their lives.  I can't understand such behaviour.  If I feel a
+thing, I can't bottle it up, I simply cannot; out it must come, whatever
+is the consequence.  And when it comes to pretending to love a person
+when you don't, and to be happy when you are not, that is worse than
+anything else.  It's positively wicked!"
+
+"I agree with you.  I have always maintained that absolute honesty
+should be practised in these affairs between a man and a woman, and that
+far less trouble would arise if each side spoke out plainly as to what
+was in their hearts.  I go perhaps a little further in my views than
+most people, but long ago I made myself a promise that when my own hour
+came I would act up to my convictions, and I am not going to draw back
+now.  Months ago, Nan, you walked into my uncle's room to meet me, and I
+knew--I think I knew almost as soon as I met your eyes--that here was a
+new specimen of her kind, a woman who would play a great part in my
+life.  I had never known that feeling before, but it has grown in
+strength ever since that day, until now it is difficult to imagine my
+life without it.  You have engrossed all my thoughts--all my hopes--"
+
+Nan stood still and stared at him.  The colour had left her cheeks, and
+her eyes were wide and startled.  She laid her hand on her throat and
+gave a little choking gasp.
+
+"Do you mean that you--that you are--in love--with _me_?"
+
+The amazement in her tone, the incredulity of that "me" was touching in
+its humility, and Gervase's smile was very tender as he replied--
+
+"I think I am.  I am, at least, travelling very fast in that direction.
+Does that alarm you so very much?  Does it distress you?  Have you no
+feeling of friendship to offer me in return?"
+
+"Friendship!  Oh yes, but not,"--Nan gulped over the word in wild
+embarrassment--"the other thing!  It's too soon.  I have just left the
+schoolroom--I have just put up my hair.  I couldn't think of such a
+thing for years and years, until I am old, and have got some sense!"
+
+Gervase laughed softly.
+
+"You have more sense now than any girl I know; but don't be frightened,
+dear, I am not asking for my answer yet.  You must have time, but I
+wanted you to know from the beginning what my feelings were.  As you
+grow older and go into society, and meet other men, I want you to
+remember that there is one man who has already given his heart to your
+keeping, and is waiting in the hope that yours may be given to him in
+return.  You are not bound-to me in any way.  If you meet some one whom
+you can care for more than for me, I will wish you God-speed; but until
+that day comes I will wait in hope.  I will not trouble you by referring
+to the subject again at present; for a year to come I will promise not
+to allude to it, but by that time you will be twenty, and will have had
+twelve whole months to think me over.  You will not forbid me to speak
+to you again next July, Nan?"
+
+"N-no!" sighed Nan dubiously, "I suppose not.  You are very kind, but I
+am--frightened.  Suppose I said `Yes,' and then changed my mind like
+Lilias!  That would be dreadful, yet how can one be sure?  I like you
+very much, better than any other man, but still--"
+
+"You must never say `Yes' unless you have no doubt in your heart.  No
+amount of liking will do.  If the day ever comes when you feel that your
+whole heart goes out to me, as mine does to you, when you would choose
+poverty with me rather than riches with another man, then come to me,
+darling, but never till then.  You and I are not the sort to be
+satisfied with a half-and-half happiness, and we will not risk failure.
+I want to make your life beautiful, not to wreck it!"
+
+The tears rose slowly in Nan's eyes, and her lips trembled.
+
+"You are very good to me; but I feel as if I must be a hypocrite to have
+deceived you so.  I'm not worth it.  I'm not, indeed.  If you only knew
+what a wretch I am, you couldn't think of me any more.  There are such
+lots of nice girls.  If you would only choose somebody proper and
+sensible and accomplished and clever--"
+
+"Oh, Nan, I don't want her.  Don't force her on me, please.  I've met
+her such scores and scores of times, and she bored me so unutterably.  I
+want just you, and no one else; but don't trouble your head about me for
+another year.  Live your own bright life.  I would not for the world
+shorten your girlhood or make you old before your time.  It won't be a
+very depressing thought, dear, will it, that somewhere a hundred miles
+away a man is loving you, and trying to live a better life because of
+his love?"
+
+Nan could not answer, could only shake her head in a mute dissent.  No;
+it was far from depressing--it was beautiful, inspiring--but, oh, what a
+responsibility!  Gervase might say that he would not willingly shorten
+her girlhood, but, alas! had he not already done so?  To feel that
+another heart leant on her own, another life depended on her for
+happiness--was this not a reflection to sober the most careless and most
+light-hearted of natures?  Nan knew full well that this short interview
+was as a milestone in her life, and that at one step she had left behind
+the careless days of youth.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
+
+AFTER TWO YEARS.
+
+Nearly two years had passed by since Lilias had broken off her
+engagement with Ned Talbot, and Gervase Vanburgh had told Nan of his
+love, and a stranger passing along the village highroad one bright May
+day might have discerned an air of unusual excitement and bustle in
+Thurston House.  The housemaids were hanging clean curtains in every
+window from attic to cellar; the gardener was bedding out plants;
+message boys besieged the house with trays of provisions, and the Parcel
+Delivery van seemed to empty its entire contents at the door.  Nor did
+the bustle grow less as one entered the house, for the hall was banked
+up with plants, and seven girls enveloped in aprons seemed to be chasing
+one another up and down stairs, so rapid and unceasing were their
+movements.  There would have been no difficulty in recognising our old
+friends, though the years had not passed without bringing changes in
+their wake.  Maud's sweet face had lost its look of sadness, and
+blossomed into fresh youth; Lilias was still the professional beauty,
+whose very apron was donned with an air to effect; while, wonder of
+wonders!  Nan had grown tidy, possessing hair as daintily coiled and
+hands as carefully kept as Lilias's own.  In the old days it had been
+hazarded as an occasional conjecture that Nan was pretty; but there
+could be no doubt on that question now, for the plump face had moulded
+into shape, the complexion toned down to a soft pink and white, and the
+dark eyes shone with happiness.  Happiness, indeed, seemed to radiate
+from Nan to-day, as she raced up and down the house, as hard-worked as
+any of her sisters, yet in some indefinable way distinguished from the
+rest, for she was given the precedence in all that went on, while every
+time that she and her mother came together, they embraced with fresh
+unction.  For the rest, Elsie had reached her ambition, and the age when
+she might dress her hair as she chose, and by means of parting it in the
+middle and plastering it over her ears had given herself an
+appropriately funereal aspect.  Even Agatha boasted a coil at the back
+of her head, while Christabel and Kitty wore skirts which reached to
+their ankles.
+
+Advancing years had, however, by no means diminished the girls' powers
+of conversation; and as they banked up plants in corners of the
+staircase, and rearranged furniture in the sitting-rooms, the babel of
+voices was as deafening, and seemingly as inexhaustible, as of yore.
+
+"Children, children, be quiet!  Stop talking, for mercy's sake!" pleaded
+Mrs Rendell piteously.  "I try to ask a question, and cannot make
+myself heard.  You will make Nan's head ache if you go on like this.  Go
+up to your room to write your letters, Nan dear.  Don't attempt to do it
+here, but take the chance of half an hour's quiet when you can get it."
+
+Nan rose obediently, and carried her writing materials upstairs; but it
+was some time before she sat down at her desk, for the dressing-room
+door stood open, and therein lay something which exercised an
+irresistible attraction, something which lay stretched on a sofa,
+swathed in careful wrappings.
+
+Nan drew back the sheet with reverent fingers, and there it lay in all
+its beauty--a gleaming satin dress, the train folded skilfully in and
+out, bunches of orange-blossom catching up the lace, which was festooned
+with as much lavishness as if it had been modest Nottingham, instead of
+precious Brussels, of that rich mellow tint which comes from age alone.
+A bride's dress, and a bride's dress fit for a princess, and in the box
+beside it a veil of the same old lace, and in the safe in the corner a
+diamond necklace and stars which represented a fortune in themselves!
+
+Could it be, could it really be that all this splendour was for her?
+And oh! lucky girl, that she was so happy in love given and received,
+that they counted as nothing, and less than nothing, in her rejoicings!
+Could it be that to-morrow morning--in twenty-four hours from now--in
+less than twenty-four hours, she would be transformed from Nan Rendell
+of the coat and skirt--Nan, the third daughter in a large family, in
+constant straits for money and anticipation of her dress allowance--into
+Nan Vanburgh in satin and diamonds, Mrs Gervase Vanburgh, with her
+country seat, her diamonds, her carriages, her expectations of even
+greater wealth to come!  Oh, wonder of wonders!  Oh, fairy tale in real
+life!  Oh, dear and beautiful prince, to work such marvels in a poor
+girl's life!  Nan bent down lower and lower until her lips touched the
+gleaming folds and her cheek rested lovingly against them, then she drew
+the sheet forward once more, and went back to her seat.  To think, not
+to write, however--to think over the two years that had just passed, and
+all the events which they had brought.  Had she really loved Gervase
+from the beginning, even as he had loved her?  It seemed as if she had,
+for after that memorable interview in the garden she had known no doubt
+nor hesitation.  It was right to wait and let time prove the stability
+of her feelings, but at the bottom of her heart she had felt no
+uncertainty as to her final answer; and oh, how long had seemed the last
+three months of the year, with what joy she had hailed July--what a
+happy; happy time it had been for all concerned!  Mrs Rendell and Maud
+had been the only members of the family who had known of the intention
+which lay behind Gervase's frequent visits; and if the surprise with
+which the engagement was greeted was mingled with some envy and
+disappointment from one of the five sisters, the others more than made
+up for it by their unaffected delight.
+
+Gervase had long received the sanction of approval; and once assured of
+Nan's happiness, it was impossible for the most unworldly of relatives
+to restrain a thrill of satisfaction in the grandeur of the alliance.
+The schoolroom party was inflated with pride at the thought of "My
+sister Mrs Vanburgh," and even Maud tilted her head and smiled with a
+complacent air when congratulated on the engagement.  As for the
+parents, they were naturally delighted at the prospect of so prosperous
+a marriage for their dear girl, while old Mr Vanburgh shed tears of
+happiness over the fulfilment of a cherished dream.
+
+"She will be the making of the boy!" he declared.  "He has always been a
+good fellow, but too indifferent and lazy to make the most of his
+abilities.  Nan's energy, Nan's enthusiasm will be his salvation!  This
+is the best news I have heard for many a long, long year.  It puts fresh
+life into me in my old age."
+
+Everybody seemed pleased and approving; and not the least welcome among
+the many letters of congratulation was one from Ned Talbot, now some
+months settled as steward of the Vanburgh property, and his earnest,
+outspoken appreciation of his new employer.
+
+When the subject of the marriage itself was broached, however, Mr
+Rendell obstinately refused to hear of any date within a year.
+
+"When she is twenty-one--not a moment before," he said firmly.  "I have
+a parent's right to my Mops until she is of age, and not one day of the
+time will I give up for you or any man living."
+
+"And I've a husband's right to her after that, and not one day longer
+will I wait, so we'll fix on her birthday, the twentieth of May!" said
+Gervase, equally obstinate; and so it was settled.  And the months had
+seemed as weeks, so rapidly had they flown past, until here was the day
+before the wedding, with Nan's new boxes standing in the corner ready
+packed for that wonderful journey to foreign lands of which she had
+dreamed all her life long.
+
+When the gong sounded, Nan looked guiltily at the blank sheet of paper;
+but it was too late to begin letters now--she must go downstairs, and
+trust to good fortune that the girls would not discover how she had
+wasted the time!  Lunch was a scramble meal to-day, served in the
+morning-room on three different tables, and in the midst of a medley of
+boxes and parcels; but that was part of the fun of the occasion, and
+added to the general hilarity.  A formal meal in the dining-room could
+be had any day, but it needed a convulsion of Nature to induce Mrs
+Rendell to hold her plate in her lap, and actually--oh, horrors! to help
+herself to butter with her own individual knife!  The girls chuckled
+with delight at the spectacle, and then turned to greet Nan on her
+reappearance.
+
+"Well, `Bride,' finished your notes?  Hope you have been a good little
+honest girl, and said what was true.  `Dear Mrs Webb,--Thank you so
+much for the dear little pepperettes.  It is so kind of you to think of
+me, and as I have already had seven pairs sent, I feel no anxiety
+whatever concerning my future happiness.'  `Dear Mr Cross,--Thank you
+so much for the vases which you have so kindly sent me.  They are quite
+unique, I am sure, as I have never before seen anything like them.  I
+shall put them in my drawing-room whenever I know you are coming, and
+keep them carefully in a cupboard when you are away.'  `Dear Mrs de
+Bels,--How kind of you to send me such a sweet little egg-boiler!  We
+never use such a thing, but it will do charmingly to give away to some
+one else, and--'"
+
+"It's to be hoped no one will send you wedding presents, Kitty, if
+that's the way you are going to receive them!" said Nan severely; but
+her reproof was received with bursts of derisive laughter.
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!  How innocent we are! how proper all of a sudden!  Can you
+look us in the face and say you have not said as nearly that as you
+dared--that you have not deliberately disguised your true sentiments?"
+
+"I can!  I do!  I have not written a single word this morning with which
+you could find fault!" cried Nan, with a boldness which betrayed her to
+her sharp-witted adversaries, for the cry was immediately raised--
+
+"She hasn't written at all!  She has been sitting dreaming about _him_
+instead."
+
+"I think of thee by morn, my love!" chanted Kitty, rolling her eyes to
+the ceiling with a ridiculous affectation of sentiment; while Agatha and
+Christabel went through a pantomime of rapturous greeting, at which Nan
+laughed in unperturbed enjoyment.  She had served a long apprenticeship
+to her sisters' teasing ways, and was too happy in her engagement to
+keep up any pretence of indifference.  Nan, indeed, won universal
+admiration in the character of an engaged girl, for there was something
+inexpressibly winsome in her transparent enjoyment of her own happiness.
+She loved her future husband with all her heart, and saw no reason why
+she should feign an indifference which she was so far from feeling.
+
+When Gervase arrived in person shortly after lunch, she went flying to
+meet him, and came back hanging on his arm, her face sparkling with
+happiness and contentment.
+
+"He has come!  He has come!  Here he is!" she cried, in tones of
+triumph; and Gervase was promptly surrounded by his sisters-in-law-to-
+be, and escorted round the house to see the preparations for to-morrow's
+ceremony.
+
+He said little, for the solemnity of the occasion had already laid its
+sobering touch upon him, but his eyes glowed, and every time he looked
+at Nan there came an expression into his face so sweet, so true, so
+tender, that Maud could not see it and keep back the tears.  She was in
+a supersensitive mood this afternoon, for not only did the parting with
+her beloved sister lie ahead, but also a meeting of even more
+importance.  Ned Talbot was to be Gervase's best man, and was even now
+at the Grange, waiting only to greet his host, before coming to pay his
+first visit for nearly two years.  The winter before he had received an
+invitation to Thurston House, but it had been refused; and even after
+that formal intimation that the way was open, he had delayed his coming,
+modesty and self-distrust alike combining to make him dread that final
+putting to the test which should "win or lose it all."  How much Miss
+Nan had to do with the choosing of the "best man" is one of those
+secrets which are best left alone.  But presently there he came, walking
+across the lawn towards the spot where the tea-table was laid, just as
+he had done on another afternoon years ago; and there sat Maud, once
+more busying herself with the tea-cups to hide her confusion, though of
+a different and far happier description.
+
+Not in vain had Jim dropped his words of reminder; not for naught had he
+handed over letters received from his old friend for his sister's
+perusal!  Maud knew, and had known for many a long day, to whom Ned's
+heart was given; and Ned knew that she knew, and gathered fresh hope
+from her sweet, shy smile.  For himself, he was looking a new man, and
+Lilias felt a stab of pain as she looked at him and met his calm,
+scrutinising glance.  She had loved him once, or had come as near loving
+him as it was in her nature to do, and she was surprised to find how
+much it hurt to realise his disenchantment.  She was as pretty as
+ever,--prettier, so her mirror told her,--but though admiration was hers
+in plenty, no one seemed to love her, or to turn to her for sympathy and
+counsel.  Nan, her younger sister, was about to be spirited away to a
+life of luxury and affluence; Maud would certainly follow suit before
+long; and she would be left at home with the younger girls, regarded by
+them as a tiresome elderly person, who refused to move on and make room
+for her juniors.  A pleasant prospect, indeed! yet she could not
+complain, for if there was little sympathy between her sisters and
+herself, the fault was her own, and in her heart she confessed that it
+was so.  It is impossible to live a selfish, self-engrossed life without
+suffering for it in hours of loneliness, and Lilias was beginning to
+learn this lesson to her cost.
+
+When tea was over, Gervase went back to the Grange to sit with his
+uncle, while Nan adjourned upstairs to superintend that last trying-on
+of bridesmaids' dresses which the younger girls declared to be
+imperative.
+
+"My dear, you don't know what may be wrong!  I slipped on my bodice last
+night, and it was two inches too tight.  That doesn't matter--I'll have
+a slim figure for your wedding, if I die for it; but consider--just
+consider--how fe-arful it would have been if it had been too loose!"
+cried Agatha tragically; and after that there was plainly no refusal
+possible.
+
+Mrs Rendell wished to interview the cook, Jim had a letter to write--
+every one, it appeared, had some important and pressing matter demanding
+attention, save only Maud and Ned, who were left to their own devices,
+and presently wandered off towards that portion of the garden most
+sheltered from observation.  Both knew what was coming, and both were
+trembling with hardly suppressed agitation; then presently their eyes
+met, Ned held out his hand, and Maud's went out to meet it without a
+moment's hesitation.
+
+"Do you forgive me, Maud?  Can you believe in me again?  Can you give
+yourself to a man who loves you with all his heart, and can never do
+enough to show his remorse for his own miserable mistake?  I did you a
+cruel wrong, but I have suffered for it all these years...  Could you
+find enough charity in your heart to forgive me, and give me another
+chance?"
+
+"I have nothing to forgive!" said Maud simply.  Dear thing! and she
+meant it too; for when she loved, she found it impossible to blame, and
+Ned had been her hero for so many a long year.  "It was quite natural
+that you should be fascinated by Lilias, for she is so beautiful and
+charming.  I did not blame you, even at the time; but oh, Ned, I was
+very miserable!  I loved you so dearly, I longed so much to help you!
+There is nothing in the world which could make me so happy as to be your
+wife!"
+
+Ned's words of love, of gratitude, of almost tearful remorse, are too
+sacred to be repeated.  He had reached his goal at last, and, looking
+back upon the past, felt that all the troubles which had lain in his
+path were but a light price to have paid for the treasure he had won!
+
+Upstairs at the window of the girls' bedroom Kitty Maitland peered
+through her spectacles at the flutter of Maud's dress behind the bushes
+in the garden, and knitted her brows, in her anxiety to account for the
+presence of a dark stain around the waist!  Presently the bushes parted
+company for a few yards, and the stain was discovered to be neither more
+nor less than a coat sleeve belonging to Mr Ned Talbot!  Kitty cleared
+her throat, and chanted in a high, clear tone--
+
+"A marriage has been arranged, and will shortly take place, between Mr
+Edward Mortimer Talbot and Maud, eldest daughter of--"
+
+A stampede towards the window interrupted the conclusion of the
+sentence, and the sisters stared at the unconscious couple with eager
+scrutiny.  They peered to right and left, craned their necks to one side
+and then the other, rushed to a second window to obtain a better view,
+and finally turned back and faced each other with expressions of awed
+conviction.
+
+"It is--for a ducat!  Oh dear, what a nuisance!" cried Agatha pitifully.
+"What shall we do without our Maud?  First Nan, and then Maud--the
+house will be lost without them!"
+
+"Our loss is their gain.  We must be resigned.  It is what we must
+expect.  One bird after another will fly away, and leave the old nest
+bare.  It is the order of Nature," sighed Elsie sadly.
+
+"Another wedding!  Another bridesmaid's dress.  How s-implay lovelay!"
+cried Christabel rapturously; but Nan stood apart with clasped hands,
+and dark eyes full of tears.
+
+"The only thing," she sighed to herself--"the only thing I had left to
+wish for.  Oh, how thankful I am!  What a dear world it is!  How good
+God is to us all!"
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's A Houseful of Girls, by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
+
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