en are such hearty eaters. Besides," she looked with a
charming smile from the Princess to Wiggs, "we were all getting on so
_nicely_ together! Of course if he just dropped in for afternoon tea
one day----"

"He will make a stay of some months, I hope." There were no wizards
in Barodia, and therefore the war would be a long one. It was this
which had decided Hyacinth.

"Of course," said Belvane, "whatever your Royal Highness wishes, but I
do think that His Majesty----"

"My dear Countess," said Hyacinth, with a smile, "the invitation has
already gone, so there's nothing more to be said, is there? Had you
finished your exercises? Yes? Then, Wiggs, will you conduct her
ladyship downstairs?"

She turned and left her. The Countess watched her go, and then stood
tragically in the middle of the room, clasping her diary to her
breast.

"This is terrible!" she said. "I feel _years_ older." She held out
her diary at arm's length and said in a gloomy voice, "_What_ an entry
for to-morrow!" The thought cheered her up a little. She began to
consider plans. How could she circumvent this terrible young man who
was going to put them all in their places. She wished that----

All at once she remembered something.

"Wiggs," she said, "what was it I heard you saying to the Princess
about a wish?"

"Oh, that's my ring," said Wiggs eagerly. "If you've been good for a
whole day you can have a good wish. And my wish is that----"

"A wish!" said Belvane to herself. "Well, I wish that----" A sudden
thought struck her. "You said that you had to be good for a whole day
first?"

"Yes."

Belvane mused.

"I wonder what they mean by _good_," she said.

"Of course," explained Wiggs, "if you've been bad for a whole day you
can have a bad wish. But I should hate to have a bad wish, wouldn't
you?"

"Simply hate it, child," said Belvane. "Er--may I have a look at that
ring?"

"Here it is," said Wiggs; "I always wear it round my neck."

The Countess took it from her.

"Listen," she said. "Wasn't that the Princess calling you? Run
along, quickly, child." She almost pushed her from the room and
closed the door on her.

Alone again, she paced from end to end of the great chamber, her left
hand nursing her right elbow, her chin in her right hand.

"If you are good for a day," she mused, "you can have a good wish. If
you are bad for a day you can have a bad wish. Yesterday I drew ten
thousand pieces of gold