g,
long time. The girls, therefore, were quite amazed when she suggested
that they should all go to Mrs. Ellsworthy in white. They began to
consider her quite an altered Hannah; but Jasmine took her advice, and
bought many yards of soft flowing muslin, which the old servant helped
her dear young ladies to make up.

At last the day and hour arrived when, as Primrose said sorrowfully,
"Our fate is to be sealed and we are to bid 'Good-bye' to dear
independence."

The girls, looking as sweet as girls could look, arrived at Mrs.
Ellsworthy's at a fairly early hour in the afternoon. The good little
lady received them with marked tenderness, but said, in an almost
confused manner, and by no means with her usual self-possession that a
slight change had been found necessary in the afternoon's programme,
and that the meeting of friends and acquaintances to hear their future
plans was not to take place at her house after all.

"We are to go to another house not far from this," she said, "indeed,
only a stone's throw away. It is so close that we will walk it. Come,
Daisy, I see a number of questions in your eyes, but they shall all be
answered presently. Take my hand now, and let us lead the way. The
other house is very pretty, but it is smaller than mine."

The other house was quite close to Mrs. Ellsworthy's luxurious
mansion. It was built more in the cottage shape, was much smaller, and
had a charming little garden and grounds round it. The hall door
opened into a porch, which was covered with roses, so that though the
house was really in London, the effect was quite that of the country.
Standing in the porch, and looking extremely pretty in its flickering
light and shade, stood Poppy Jenkins, in the neatest of handmaiden's
attire, and as the girls all came into the shade of the cool porch,
Noel himself, looking somewhat pale, and with a curious agitation in
his manner, came out to meet them.

"This is my house," he said, "and Poppy is engaged as one of the
servants. I thought we might all meet here to discuss the new plans.
Poppy, will you take the young ladies to their room? I've had a room
prepared," he continued, blushing slightly, "for I thought Daisy might
like to rest a little."

Poppy instantly tripped forward, and in quite a demure manner took
the girls up some broad stairs, and into a long, rather low-ceilinged
room on the first floor. There were three little white beds in the
room, and three toilet tables, and