ime to time; but her favourite one was
that her mother first married a lord who was ashamed of his wife, and
would not acknowledge his children until they were grown up and properly
educated; and Sarah used to picture the reconciliation between them and
their proud relatives, for whose benefit she composed many fine speeches
full of reproof and final forgiveness.

This may be a little excuse for her want of respect to her father, Mark
Clay, by speaking of whom, it will be remembered, as 'your husband' she
used to anger her mother. She even half-thought of telling Horatia this
tale; but Horatia had a way of turning everything into ridicule, and one
of the many things that Sarah could not stand was being laughed at.

The same motor that took George Clay to the station took Sarah that
afternoon to meet Horatia Cunningham, who was to arrive at six o'clock,
and who persisted in arriving at that hour, although Sarah had written to
her and warned her it was the hour when the mill-hands came out; she said
she did not mind at all, and supposed that she would be quite safe in a
motor with its smart chauffeur; and Sarah, looking so fresh and dainty
that many a one turned and looked after the millionaire's pretty
daughter, started off for the station, and not one of them guessed she
was feeling nervous, and wished with all her might that she were going on
another errand. The girl even wished that something might have happened
to prevent her friend from coming; but when the train stopped she saw the
wish was vain, for Horatia's face was smiling at her from a window, and
Sarah forgot her fears for the moment, and smiled back a welcome.

CHAPTER VII.

HORATIA'S ARRIVAL.

Sarah stepped forward to help Horatia down from the carriage, and
suddenly her expression changed to one of mingled surprise and annoyance;
seeing which, the young visitor, with a merry laugh, jumped from the
carriage to the platform, ignoring the steps and Sarah's outstretched
hand.

'There! I said so, didn't I, Nanny?' she cried, turning to her maid, a
highly respectable, middle-aged woman, with as good-humoured a face as
her young charge.--'Sarah, I said the minute you saw us come out of a
third-class carriage you would put on that shocked face of yours. That's
partly why I did it.'

'You must excuse Miss Horatia, miss. She's full of mischief, and she got
into this carriage at the junction without my seeing what class it was,
or I would never have a