good value
for twenty pounds a year; or at the worst I might give my services in
exchange for a comfortable home, as the advertisements say. How I wish
I could read Greek and play Chopin, like Lady Mabel Ashbourne. I'll
write to dear old McCroke, and ask her to get me a place."

"My dear Violet, how can you talk so absurdly. You, the future mistress
of the Abbey House--you, with your youth and beauty and high spirit--to
go meandering about the world teaching buttermen's or tea-dealers'
children to spell B a, ba, and A b, ab?"

"It might be better than sitting at meat with a man I detest," said
Vixen. "Am I to value the flesh-pots of Egypt more than, my liberty and
independence of mind?"

"You have your mother to think of," urged Roderick. "You owe duty and
obedience to her, even if she has offended you by this foolish
marriage. If you have so bad an opinion of Captain Winstanley, you are
all the more bound to stand by your mother."

"That is an argument worth listening to," said Vixen. "It might be
cruel to leave poor mamma quite at his mercy. I don't suppose he would
actually ill-treat her. He knows his own interest too well for that. He
would not lock her up in a cellar, or beat, or starve her. He will be
content with making himself her master. She will have no more will of
her own than if she were a prettily dressed doll placed at the head of
the table for show. She will be lulled into a state of childish bliss,
and go smiling through life, believing she has not a wish ungratified.
Everybody will think her the happiest of women, and Captain Winstanley
the best of husbands."

Vixen said all this with prophetic earnestness, looking straight
forward into the green glade before her, where the beech-nuts and
acorns were dropping in a gentle rain of plenty.

"I hope things won't be quite so bad as you anticipate. I hope you will
be able to make yourself happy, in spite of Captain Winstanley. And we
shall see each other pretty often, I hope, Violet, as we used in old
times. The Dovedales are at Wiesbaden; the Duke only holds existence on
the condition of deluging himself with German waters once a year; but
they are to be back early in November. I shall make the Duchess call on
Mrs. Winstanley directly she returns."

"Thanks; mamma will be very pleased. I wonder you are not with them."

"Oh, I had to begin my duties as M. F. H. I wouldn't have been away for
the world."

Violet looked at her watch. It was a good de