the very end.

By the time we had finished it was nearly four o'clock, and we were not
to have tea till half-past, so there was time for a nice game of
hide-and-seek among the trees. I don't think I ever ran so fast or
laughed so much in my life. They were all such good-natured children,
even if they did have little quarrels they were soon over, and then I
think they were all especially kind to me. I suppose they were sorry for
me in some ways that did not come into my own mind at all.

Then we all went to the house to be made tidy for tea, and in spite of
what grandmamma had said about not minding if my frock was dirtied I was
very pleased to find that it was perfectly clean.

Grandmamma and Mrs. Nestor were waiting for us in the drawing-room; and
we all went back to the arbour together, Sharley walking first with
grandmamma, which was quite right, as the plan about tea had been all
her own.

Grandmamma _was_ pleased. I think she liked to see how fond these
children had already got to be of her, though perhaps it would have been
as well if Quick had not informed us in the middle of tea that he liked
her a great, great deal better than his real grandmamma, whose nose was
very big and her hair quite black.

'But she's very kind to us too,' said Sharley, 'only I don't think she
cares much for little boys.'

'Nor for tomboys either,' said Pert, who did love teasing Sharley
whenever he had a chance.

'Jerry's her favourite,' said Nan.

'And I think he deserves to be,' said her mother.

'I wish he was here to-day, I know that,' said Sharley. 'It's such a
long time to the holidays, and it won't be so nice this year when they
do come, as most likely a boy's coming with Jerry.'

'Two boys,' corrected Pert, 'their name's Vandeleur, and they're his
greatest friends.'

'Vandeleur?' said grandmamma. 'I wonder if----' and then she stopped. 'I
have relations of that name,' she said, 'but I don't suppose they belong
to the same family.'

'It is not a common name,' said Mrs. Nestor. 'But these boys are, I
believe, orphans. Both their father and mother are dead, are they not,
Sharley? Sharley knows the most about them,' she went on, 'for Gerard
and she write long letters to each other always, and she hears all about
his school friends and everything he is interested in.'

'Yes,' said Sharley, 'they are orphans. They have an old aunt or some
relation who takes care of them. But I think they are rather lonely.
They often