not help feeling somehow that
she had made herself very ridiculous, and it gave her an unwonted
feeling of humility as she went home, which Vava's conversation did not
help to allay.

'Well,' was her greeting, 'what did Mr. Jones say?'

'He got the letter on Saturday afternoon, so I was too late to prevent
his opening it,' Stella replied.

'O-oh! But you needn't really mind, Stella; he would not think any the
less of you for it,' she observed.

'He was very polite about it,' said Stella in a reserved tone.

Vava looked inquiringly at her sister. 'I hope you were polite, because
he's a most awfully nice man to be with, and you don't half-appreciate
it,' she said with her usual candour.

And then Doreen, who was buying a book at the bookstall, joined them,
and the subject was dropped, to Stella's relief; and Vava, who would
have liked to know what Mr. Jones said, finding her curiosity was not to
be gratified by Stella, privately made up her mind to ask Mr. Jones on
Saturday when he helped her with her algebra.

What satisfaction she got out of him will be told later on; but, though
the storm had blown over this time, it was not the last quarrel between
Stella and her employer, and Vava declared to Mrs. Morrison that it was
'no good, for Stella would never get on with Mr. James Jones, who really
was the nicest man she had ever met, and quite a gentleman.' Whether
this was a true prophecy time will show.

CHAPTER XX.

VAVA ON FRIENDS.

Both the sitting-rooms at 2 Heather Road were rarely used at the same
time, for Vava learnt her lessons either with Doreen or with Mrs.
Morrison in the kitchen, which, the girl declared, was 'the most
comfortable room in the house,' and which, at any rate, was always
spotlessly clean, and had a bright fire burning, and certainly looked
inviting enough with the kindly, gray-haired woman sitting in the wooden
arm-chair at the table knitting stockings for her 'young leddies' or
mending their clothes. So that Stella would have been alone if she had
not sat with the two others, who were only too glad to have her, not
only because they both liked her, but because they did not care to be
left alone either.

It was a sad fact which Amy had come to realise, that Eva no longer made
a friend of her, but shut herself up within herself, and only opened out
to Mrs. Morrison, and even to her she only spoke about her life before
she came to London, since which, she explained, she had o