riday morning came a thaw.

Miss Mildmay looked up with a smile--her smiles were somewhat rare, but
not without a certain charm--as the girls entered the dining-room,
_even_ though they were too late for prayers.

'We are so sorry, Aunt Alison,' said Frances eagerly. 'We _just_ got to
the door in time to be too late.'

'Well, I must forgive you, for I cannot say that it often happens.
And--I have something to tell you, Jacinth,' was the gracious reply.

Two things had pleased Miss Mildmay that morning: a letter with the
welcome news that, thanks to her judicious management, the difficulty
alluded to had been got over, and another letter from Lady Myrtle
Goodacre, with a cordial invitation to her elder niece. For Miss Mildmay
herself, though it was not her way to express such things, had felt a
little annoyed and considerably surprised at no further communication
from the owner of Robin Redbreast.

Now, however, all was cleared up. The old lady had been ill,
'otherwise,' she wrote with studied courtesy, 'she had hoped before this
to have had the pleasure of calling.' But under the circumstances she
felt sure that Miss Mildmay would excuse her, and in proof of this,
would she allow her niece Jacinth to spend Sunday at Robin Redbreast? by
which she explained that she meant from Saturday to Monday morning.

'My carriage shall call for her about noon,' wrote Lady Myrtle, 'and she
shall be sent home, or straight to school, at any hour she names on
Monday.'

Jacinth's eyes sparkled. This was just the sort of thing she had been
hoping for, but with the self-restraint peculiar to her, unusual in one
so young, she said nothing till her aunt directly addressed her, after
reading aloud Lady Myrtle's note.

'Well, what do you say to it? Would you like to go?' asked Miss Mildmay.

'Very much indeed,' Jacinth replied, 'except'----And as her eyes fell on
her sister she hesitated. 'I wish Frances had been invited too,' she was
on the point of saying, but she changed the words into, 'I hope Frances
won't be dull without me.'

'Oh no, don't think about that,' said the younger girl. 'I really and
truly would not like to go; I shouldn't care about it in the least, and
I am _very_ glad I'm not asked.'

And Jacinth saw that Frances thoroughly meant what she said.

Before the day was over, Frances felt still more glad that she had not
been included in the invitation, for as soon as morning lessons were
finished, and the day-schol