g together the preliminaries of a
week's festivities which Mrs. Miller has decided shall be held at
Shadonake this winter. The house is to be filled, and there are to be a
series of dinner parties, culminating in a ball.

"The Bayleys, the Westons, the Foresters, and two daughters, I suppose,"
reads Mrs. Miller, aloud, from the list in her hand, "Any more for the
second dinner-party, Beatrice?"

"Are you not going to ask the Daintrees, of Sutton, mother?"

"Oh, dear me, another parson, Beatrice! I really don't think we can; I
have got three already. They shall have a card for the ball."

"You will ask that handsome girl who lives with them, won't you?"

"Not the slightest occasion for doing so," replied her mother, shortly.
Beatrice lifted her eyebrows.

"Why, she is the best-looking woman in all Meadowshire; we cannot leave
her out."

"I know nothing about her, not even her name; she is some kind of poor
relation, I believe--acts as the children's governess. We have too many
women as it is. No, I certainly shall not ask her. Go on to the next,
Beatrice."

"But, mother, she is so very handsome! Surely you might include her."

"Dear me, Beatrice, what a stupid girl you are! What is the good of
asking handsome girls to cut you out in your own house? I should have
thought you would have had the sense to see that for yourself," said Mrs.
Miller, impatiently.

"I think you are horribly unjust, mamma," says Miss Beatrice,
energetically; "and it is downright unkind to leave her out because
she is handsome--as if I cared."

"How can I ask her if I do not know her name?" said her mother,
irritably, with just that amount of dread of her daughter's rising temper
to make her anxious to conciliate her. "If you like to find out who she
is and all about her----"

"Yes, I will find out," said Beatrice, quietly; "give me the note, I will
keep it back for the present."

"Now, for goodness sake, go on, child, and don't waste any more time. Who
are coming from town to stay in the house?"

"Well, there will be Lady Kynaston, I suppose."

"Yes. She won't come till the end of the week. I have heard from her; she
will try and get down in time for the ball."

"Then there will be the Macpherson girls and Helen Romer. And, as a
matter of course, Captain Kynaston must be asked?"

"Yes. What a fool that woman is to advertise her feelings so openly that
one is obliged to ask her attendant swain to follow her wherever she
goes!"