pose; but yet
it had been an understood thing that Caroline was to live with her
and be supported. And though Caroline's income had also been used, it
had gone rather in luxurious enjoyments than in necessary expenses;
in the keep of a horse, for instance, in a journey to Jerusalem, in a
new grand piano, and such like. Now there might naturally be a doubt
whether under altered circumstances this allowance from Mr. Bertram
would remain unaltered.

But it had never occurred to her that she would be asked to live
at Hadley. That idea did now occur to her, and therefore she stood
before her uncle hesitating in her answer, and--may my inability to
select any better word be taken in excuse?--"flabbergasted" in her
mind and feelings.

But her doom followed quickly on her hesitation. "Because," said
Mr. Bertram, "there is plenty of room here. There can be no need of
two houses and two establishments now; you had better send for your
things and fix yourself here at once."

"But I couldn't leave the rooms at Littlebath without a quarter's
notice;"--the coward's plea; a long day, my lord, a long day--"that
was particularly understood when I got them so cheap."

"There will be no difficulty in reletting them at this time of the
year," growled Mr. Bertram.

"Oh, no, I suppose not; one would have to pay something, of course.
But, dear me! one can hardly leave the place where one has lived so
long all of a moment."

"Why not?" demanded the tyrant.

"Well, I don't know. I can hardly say why not; but one has so many
people to see, and so many things to do, and so much to pack up."

It may be easily conceived that in such an encounter Miss Baker
would not achieve victory. She had neither spirit for the fight, nor
power to use it even had the spirit been there; but she effected a
compromise by the very dint of her own weakness. "Yes, certainly,"
she said. "As Mr. Bertram thought it best, she would be very happy
to live with him at Hadley--most happy, of course; but mightn't she
go down and pack up her things, and settle with everybody, and say
good-bye to her friends?" Oh, those friends! that horrible Miss Todd!

And thus she got a month of grace. She was to go down immediately
after Christmas-day, and be up again at Hadley, and fixed there
permanently, before the end of January.

She wrote to Caroline on the subject, rather plaintively; but owning
that it was of course her duty to stay by her uncle now that he was
so infirm