t the villa favoured by Mr. Egremont was not to be had,
only the side of the bay he disliked, and that a pleasant villa offered
at Nice.

Should she close with it? Well--was there great haste? Gregorio knew
a good many people at Mentone, and could ascertain in his own way if
they could get the right side of the bay by going to the hotel and
waiting. Alice, however, pressed the matter--represented the danger of
falling between two stools, pleaded personal preference, and whereas
Mr. Egremont was too lazy for resistance to any persuasion, she
obtained permission to engage the Nice villa. The next day Gregorio
announced that he had heard that the proprietor of Villa Francaleone at
Mentone was giving up hopes of his usual tenants, and an offer might
secure it.

'Villa Eugenie at Nice is taken,' said Alice, and she received one of
those deadly black looks, which were always like a stab.

Of all this Nuttie knew nothing. She was a good deal thrown with the
schoolroom party and with the curate's wife for companionship. Now
Mrs. Edwards did not approve of even the canonical Egremonts, having an
ideal far beyond the ritual of Bridgefield; and she was delighted to
find how entirely Miss Egremont sympathised with her.

Nuttie described St. Ambrose's as a paradise of church observances and
parish management, everything becoming embellished and all shortcomings
forgotten in the loving mists of distance. The harmonium was never out
of tune; the choir-boys were only just naughty enough to show how
wisely Mr. Spyers dealt with them; the surplices, one would think,
never needed washing; Mr. Dutton and Gerard Godfrey were paragons of
lay helpers, and district visitors never were troublesome. Mrs.
Edwards listened with open ears, and together they bewailed the
impracticability of moving the Canon to raising Bridgefield to anything
approaching to such a standard; while Nuttie absolutely cultivated her
home sickness.

According to promise Blanche wrote to her from Monks Horton, and told
her thus much--'We have been all over your umbrella place. It was very
curious. Then we called upon Miss Headworth, who was quite well, and
was pleased to hear of you.'

Blanche was famous for never putting into a letter what her
correspondent wanted to hear, but her stepmother wrote a much longer
and more interesting letter to Mrs. Egremont.

'You will be glad to hear that we found your aunt quite well. I
suppose it is not in the nature