tration had apparently been taken as a
great favour, and Biddy loyally testified to the fact that her elder
brother was awfully jolly and that his presence had been a pretext for
tremendous fun. Nick accordingly asked her what had passed about his
marriage--what their mother had said to him.

"Oh nothing," she replied; and Percy had said nothing to Lady Agnes and
not a word to herself. This partly explained, for his junior, the
consequent beatitude--none but cheerful topics had been produced; but he
questioned the girl further--to a point which led her to say: "Oh I
daresay that before long she'll write to her."

"Who'll write to whom?"

"Mamma'll write to Percy's wife. I'm sure he'd like it. Of course we
shall end by going to see her. He was awfully disappointed at what he
found in Spain--he didn't find anything."

Biddy spoke of his disappointment almost with commiseration, for she was
evidently inclined this morning to a fresh and kindly view of things.
Nick could share her feeling but so far as was permitted by a
recognition merely general of what his brother must have looked for. It
might have been snipe and it might have been bristling boars. Biddy was
indeed brief at first about everything, in spite of all the weeks that
had gone since their last meeting; for he quickly enough saw she had
something behind--something that made her gay and that she wanted to
come to quickly. He was vaguely vexed at her being, fresh from
Broadwood, so gay as that; for--it was impossible to shut one's eyes to
the fact--what had practically come to pass in regard to that rural
retreat was exactly what he had desired to avert. All winter, while it
had been taken for granted his mother and sisters were doing what he
wished, they had been doing precisely what he hated. He held Biddy
perhaps least responsible, and there was no one he could exclusively
blame. He washed his hands of the matter and succeeded fairly well, for
the most part, in forgetting he was not pleased. Julia herself in truth
appeared to have been the most active member of the little group united
to make light of his decencies. There had been a formal restitution of
Broadwood, but the three ladies were there more than ever, with the
slight difference that they were mainly there with its mistress. Mahomet
had declined to go any more to the mountain, so the mountain had
virtually come to Mahomet.

After their long visit in the autumn Lady Agnes and her girls had come