urch at Feltram, and then pay us a visit at
Bartram-Haugh, to which they readily agreed.

Accordingly, at about two o'clock, this pleasant party of three arrived at
Bartram. They walked, having left the carriage to follow when the horses
were fed; and Madame de la Rougierre, who was in my uncle's room when
little Giblets arrived to say that the party were in the parlour, whispered
for a little with my uncle, who then said--

'Miss Maud Ruthyn has gone out to drive, but I shall be happy to see Lady
Knollys here, if she will do me the favour to come upstairs and see me for
a few moments; and you can mention that I am very far from well.'

Madame followed him out upon the lobby, and added, holding him by the
collar, and whispering earnestly in his ear--

'Bring hair ladysheep up by the backstairs--mind, the _back_stairs.'

And the next moment Madame entered my room, with long tiptoe steps, and
looking, Mary Quince said, as if she were going to be hanged.

On entering she looked sharply round, and being satisfied of Mary Quince's
presence, she turned the key in the door, and made some affectionate
enquiries about me in a whisper; and then she stole to the window and
peeped out, standing back some way; after which she came to my bedside,
murmured some tender sentences, drew the curtain a little, and making some
little fidgety adjustments about the room; among the rest she took the key
from the lock, quietly, and put it into her pocket.

This was so odd a procedure that honest Mary Quince rose stoutly from her
chair, pointing to the lock, with her frank little blue eyes fixed on
Madame, and she whispered--'Won't you put the key in the lock, please?'

'Oh, certainly, Mary Queence; but it is better it shall be locked, for I
think her uncle he is coming to see her, and I am sure she would be very
much frightened, for he is very much displease, don't you see? and we can
tell him she is not well enough, or asleep, and so he weel go away again,
without any trouble.'

I heard nothing of this, which was conducted in close whispers; and Mary,
although she did not give Madame credit for caring whether I was frightened
or not, and suspected her motives in everything, acquiesced grudgingly,
fearing lest her alleged reason might possibly be the true one.

So Madame hovered about the door, uneasily; and of what went on elsewhere
during that period Lady Knollys afterwards gave me the following account:--

'We were very much disapp