r remonstrances aside with blunt,
good-humored kindness.

"Lucy is coming with us," he said, "if you don't think her in the way;
it might be pleasant for you to have a companion."

"I should so much like to go with Nola," pleaded Lucy.

"Oh, I shall be delighted if Lucy will go," Minola said, not well
knowing how to put into words her sense of all their kindness. It was
really a great relief to her to have Lucy's companionship in such a
visit. Mary Blanchet did not like to go back even for a few days to
Keeton. The poetess objected to seeing ever again the place where she
considered that art and she had been degraded by her servitude in the
court-house. So the conditions of the visit were all settled.

But there arose suddenly some new conditions which Minola had never
expected. The long looked-for vacancy at length occurred in the
representation of Keeton. The sitting member announced his
determination to resign his seat as soon as the necessary arrangements
for such a step could be put into effect. It was imperative that Victor
Heron should lose no time in throwing himself upon the vacant borough.
Mr. Money and Lucy rattled up to Minola's door one breathless morning
with the news. Lucy's eyes were positively dancing with excitement and
delight.

"It seems to me that there's going to be a regular invasion of your
borough, Miss Grey," Mr. Money said. "We're all going to be there. You
see that you are under no manner of compliment to me. I must have gone
down to Keeton in any case; it's one of the lucky things that don't
often befall a busy man like me to be able to kill the two birds with
the one stone. I must take care of our friend Heron as well as of you.
He would be doing some ridiculous thing if there were no elder to look
after him. He is as innocent of the dodges of an English election as
you are of the ways of English lawyers. So we'll be all together; that
will be very pleasant. Of course we'll not interfere with you. You
shall be just as quiet as you like while we are doing our
electioneering."

What could Minola say against all this arrangement, which seemed so
satisfactory and so delightful to her friends? It was not pleasant for
her to be brought thus into a sort of companionship with Victor Heron.
But it would be far less pleasant, it would indeed be intolerable and
not to be thought of, that she should in any way raise an objection or
make a difficulty which might hint of the feelings that possesse