h a smart ribbon and well-set quill, a few new trifles
for her neck, a bow, a silk handkerchief daringly knotted, and some
fresh gloves, made her feel that she was sufficiently equipped.

During her last expedition to the sales she came upon a nice white duck
coat and skirt which she contrived to buy as a present for Jane. It was
necessary to count over the contents of her purse very carefully and to
give up the purchase of a slim umbrella she wanted, but she did it
cheerfully. If she had been a rich woman she would have given presents
to every one she knew, and it was actually a luxury to her to be able to
do something for the Cupps, who, she always felt, were continually
giving her more than she paid for. The care they took of her small room,
the fresh hot tea they managed to have ready when she came in, the penny
bunch of daffodils they sometimes put on her table, were kindnesses, and
she was grateful for them. "I am very much obliged to you, Jane," she
said to the girl, when she got into the four-wheeled cab on the eventful
day of her journey to Mallowe. "I don't know what I should have done
without you, I'm sure. I feel so smart in my dress now that you have
altered it. If Lady Maria's maid ever thinks of leaving her, I am sure I
could recommend you for her place."

Chapter Two

There were other visitors to Mallowe Court travelling by the 2:30 from
Paddington, but they were much smarter people than Miss Fox-Seton, and
they were put into a first-class carriage by a footman with a cockade
and a long drab coat. Emily, who traveled third with some workmen with
bundles, looked out of her window as they passed, and might possibly
have breathed a faint sigh if she had not felt in such buoyant spirits.
She had put on her revived brown skirt and a white linen blouse with a
brown dot on it. A soft brown silk tie was knotted smartly under her
fresh collar, and she wore her new sailor hat. Her gloves were brown,
and so was her parasol. She looked nice and taut and fresh, but notably
inexpensive. The people who went to sales and bought things at three and
eleven or "four-three" a yard would have been able add her up and work
out her total. But there would be no people capable of the calculation
at Mallowe. Even the servants' hall was likely to know less of prices
than this one guest did. The people the drab-coated footman escorted to
the first-class carriage were a mother and daughter. The mother had
regular little fe