in her tone. "Mr. Brooke can go
where he pleases, my dear," Miss Stanbury replied. "And as for Mr.
Gibson, I am not his keeper." The tone in which Miss Stanbury
spoke would have implied great imprudence, had not the two ladies
understood each other so thoroughly, and had not each known that it
was so.

There was the accustomed set of people in Mrs. French's
drawing-room;--the Crumbies, and the Wrights, and the Apjohns. And
Mrs. MacHugh came also,--knowing that there would be a rubber. "Their
naked shoulders don't hurt me," Mrs. MacHugh said, when her friend
almost scolded her for going to the house. "I'm not a young man. I
don't care what they do to themselves." "You might say as much if
they went naked altogether," Miss Stanbury had replied in anger. "If
nobody else complained, I shouldn't," said Mrs. MacHugh. Mrs. MacHugh
got her rubber; and as she had gone for her rubber, on a distinct
promise that there should be a rubber, and as there was a rubber, she
felt that she had no right to say ill-natured things. "What does it
matter to me," said Mrs. MacHugh, "how nasty she is? She's not going
to be my wife." "Ugh!" exclaimed Miss Stanbury, shaking her head both
in anger and disgust.

Camilla French was by no means so bad as she was painted by Miss
Stanbury, and Brooke Burgess rather liked her than otherwise. And it
seemed to him that Mr. Gibson did not at all dislike Arabella, and
felt no repugnance at either the lady's noddle or shoulders now that
he was removed from Miss Stanbury's influence. It was clear enough
also that Arabella had not given up the attempt, although she must
have admitted to herself that the claims of Dorothy Stanbury were
very strong. On this evening it seemed to have been specially
permitted to Arabella, who was the elder sister, to take into her own
hands the management of the case. Beholders of the game had hitherto
declared that Mr. Gibson's safety was secured by the constant
coupling of the sisters. Neither would allow the other to hunt
alone. But a common sense of the common danger had made some special
strategy necessary, and Camilla hardly spoke a word to Mr. Gibson
during the evening. Let us hope that she found some temporary
consolation in the presence of the stranger.

"I hope you are going to stay with us ever so long, Mr. Burgess?"
said Camilla.

"A month. That is ever so long;--isn't it? Why I mean to see all
Devonshire within that time. I feel already that I know Exeter
thorou