l. It had even a touch of indignation as though the
speaker charged her husband with the draughts. Mrs. Hooper was a woman
between forty and fifty, small and plain, except for a pair of rather
fine eyes, which, in her youth, while her cheeks were still pink, and
the obstinate lines of her thin slit mouth and prominent chin were less
marked, had beguiled several lovers, Ewen Hooper at their head.

Dr. Hooper took no notice of her complaints. He was saying to his
niece--"This is Alice, Constance--and Nora! You'll hardly remember each
other again, after all these years."

"Oh, yes, I remember quite well," said a clear, high-pitched voice. "How
do you do!--how do you do?"

And the girl held a hand out to each cousin in turn. She did not offer
to kiss either Alice or Nora. But she looked at them steadily, and
suddenly Nora was aware of that expression of which she had so vivid
although so childish a recollection--as though a satiric spirit sat
hidden and laughing in the eyes, while the rest of the face was
quite grave.

"Come in and have some tea. It's quite ready," said Alice, throwing open
the drawing-room door. Her face had cleared suddenly. It did not seem to
her, at least in the shadows of the hall, that her cousin Constance was
anything of a beauty.

"I'm afraid I must look after Annette first. She's much more important
than I am!"

And the girl ran back to where a woman in a blue serge coat and skirt
was superintending the carrying in of the luggage. There was a great
deal of luggage, and Annette, who wore a rather cross, flushed air,
turned round every now and then to look frowningly at the old gabled
house into which it was being carried, as though she were more than
doubtful whether the building would hold the boxes. Yet as houses went,
in the older parts of Oxford, Medburn House, Holywell, was roomy.

"Annette, don't do any unpacking till after tea!" cried Lady Constance.
"Just get the boxes carried up, and rest a bit. I'll come and help
you later."

The maid said nothing. Her lips seemed tightly compressed. She stepped
into the hall, and spoke peremptorily to the white-capped parlourmaid
who stood bewildered among the trunks.

"Have those boxes--" she pointed to four--two large American Saratogas,
and two smaller trunks--"carried up to her ladyship's room. The other
two can go into mine."

"Miss!" whispered the agitated maid in Nora's ear, "we'll never get any
of those boxes up the top-stairs. And if