a shrewd suspicion that she is going to cut us out, and be the
show daughter of the family. Mother will be blissfully happy building
castles in the air; Trix will be blissfully happy playing eldest
daughter, and bossing the family. We shall be blissfully happy not
pretending, but actually being, Berengaria and Lucille. It's all quite
smooth and easy!"

Ruth heaved a sigh, half convinced, half reluctant.

"That's what you always say! I see such crowds of objections. To begin
with, I hate the position; it's awkward and humiliating. To stay here
on approval, studied like specimens in a case; being on one's good
behaviour, and `acting pretty' to try to get a fortune for oneself, away
from other people--bah! It makes me hot even to think of it. I should
feel a hypocrite!"

"Don't be high-flown, dear; it's quite unnecessary. You couldn't be a
hypocrite if you tried; you are too ridiculously `proud,' I suppose you
would say. I call it quick-tempered! If Uncle Bernard snubs you, you
will flare out, fortune or no fortune, and if you feel mopey, mope you
will, if he disinherits you the next moment. I shall be honest, too,
because I'm too lazy to be anything else; besides, you know, there is
always the pleasing reflection that he may _prefer_ us to be crotchety!
Everything is possible where everything is vague. Imagine how maddening
it would be if we kept our tempers, and smiled sweetly from morning till
night, and in the end he left everything to that cross Mr Melland,
because he considered it necessary for the owner of wealth to have a
will of his own!"

Ruth laughed involuntarily.

"You _are_ a goose! Not much chance of your being the chosen one, I am
afraid. Uncle Bernard is not in the mood for appreciating nonsense; he
is too sad and ill, poor old man! That's another hateful thing. I
should love to nurse and coddle him, and read aloud, and be good to him
generally; but if one does, it will seem-- Oh, you know-- you
understand! It's a loathsome position!"

"If I feel affectionate, I shall act affectionate! He will probably
loathe it, so there's just as much chance of injuring one's chance as of
bettering it. In fact, if we are to get on at all, we had better try to
forget the wretched money, and behave as if it did not exist. If anyone
had told us a month ago that we should be staying in a big house with
two quite good-looking young men as fellow-guests, and carte blanche to
enjoy ourselves as much