u did not stay up
in your own rooms."

I thanked her for her kind thought, and she left me at last.

If she only knew! The unmarried ones who came down the passage to talk to
mademoiselle were not half so saucy as the old fellows with wives
somewhere. Lord Bentworth was married, and he wanted me to kiss him,
whereas Colonel Grimston had no wife, and he never said Bo! to a goose.
And I do wonder what she thought Mr. Carruthers was going to do to me,
that it would have been wise for me to stay up in my rooms. Perhaps she
thinks diplomats, having lived in foreign places, are sort of wild beasts.

My room is frightful after my pretty rosy chintzes at Branches. Nasty
yellowish wood furniture, and nothing much matching; however, there are
plenty of wardrobes, so Veronique is content.

They were all in the drawing-room when I got down, and Malcolm, the eldest
son, who is in a Highland militia regiment, had arrived by a seven-o'clock
train.

I had that dreadful feeling of being very late and Mr. Montgomerie wanting
to swear at me, though it was only a minute past a quarter to eight.

He said "Burrrr" several times, and flew off to the dining-room with me
tucked under his arm, murmuring it gave no cook a chance to keep the
dinner waiting. So I expected something wonderful in the way of food, but
it is not half so good as our chef sent up at Branches. And the footmen
are not all the same height, and their liveries don't fit like Mrs.
Carruthers always insisted that ours should do.

Malcolm _is_ a titsy pootsy man. Not as tall as I am, and thin as a rail,
with a look of his knees being too near together. He must be awful in a
kilt, and I am sure he shivers when the wind blows--he has that air. I
don't like kilts--unless men are big, strong, bronzed creatures that don't
seem ashamed of their bare bits. I saw some splendid specimens marching,
once, in Edinburgh, and they swung their skirts just like the beautiful
ladies in the Bois, when mademoiselle and I went out of the Allee Mrs.
Carruthers told us to try always to walk in.

Lady Catherine talked a great deal at dinner about politics and her
different charities, and the four girls were so respectful and interested,
but Mr. Montgomerie contradicted her whenever he could. I was glad when we
went into the drawing-room.

That first evening was the worst of all, because we were all so strange;
one seems to get acclimatized to whatever it is after a while.

Lady Katherine as