m still remained the place
which pleased them most. Every one went to Mrs Solace's party, and came
away with a feeling that they had spent a pleasant time. The vicar and
his sister never missed it; Aunt Katharine and the children, the
Broadbents, and others owning farms near Fieldside--even Dr Price, who
was shy of gatherings in general--all met and talked to each other with
smiling faces in the pretty old garden at the Manor Farm. Tea, with
heaped-up dishes of strawberries, and a plentiful supply of cream, stood
ready on little tables under the veranda, so that people could help
themselves when and how they liked. Nothing could be more simple than
Mrs Solace's preparations, and yet her party was always successful. She
asked every one, paying no attention at all to family quarrels or the
niceties of social position amongst the neighbouring farmers, and yet
there were no haughty looks. Even the Broadbents, who were always
prepared to be a little superior to every one, laid aside their elegant
exclusiveness, and descended to the common ground of unaffected
good-nature and enjoyment.

Perhaps one of the great reasons that made the party so pleasant was,
that you might, as Dennis had said, always count on having a fine day.
However wet or dull or cold it had been, the weather was sure to clear,
and the sun to shine, for Mrs Solace, just on that special occasion, so
that the children had grown to expect it as a matter of course. And yet
another reason lay in the simple kindliness and good-will of Mrs Solace
herself. The genial warmth of her welcome spread itself abroad and
influenced her guests, much as the bountiful rays of the sun turned all
the flowers and fruit to colour and sweetness in her garden. Sour
looks, stiff manners, and peevish remarks seemed out of place, and as
impossible on that day as cold winds, a cloudy sky, or unripe
strawberries.

Mrs Solace had her usual luck this year: by the time the day of the
party came, the rain was over and gone, and the sun was shining so
brightly, that clouds and greyness were quite forgotten.

Philippa had come over from Haughton to go with her cousins; and the
children, who always thought Aunt Katharine started much too late,
begged that they might walk over earlier alone.

"We want to have a good long time with Becky, you see," said Maisie;
"and we shan't be in any one's way."

When they arrived, therefore, at the door in the long grey wall which
skirted the M