ner to-day is at half-past one. You can dine or
not as you like," and the old lady flounced out of the room.

Poor Clive stood rolling his cigar in sad perplexity of spirit, until
Mrs. Honeyman's servant Hannah entered, who, for her part, grinned and
looked particularly sly. "In the name of goodness, Hannah, what is the
row about?" cries Mr. Clive. "What is my aunt scolding at? What are you
grinning at, you old Cheshire cat?"

"Git long, Master Clive," says Hannah, patting the cloth.

"Get along! why get along, and where am I to get along to?"

"Did 'ee do ut really now, Master Clive?" cries Mrs. Honeyman's
attendant, grinning with the utmost good-humour. "Well, she be as pretty
a young lady as ever I saw; and as I told my missis, 'Miss Martha,' says
I, 'there's a pair on 'em.' Though missis was mortal angry to be sure.
She never could bear it."

"Bear what? you old goose!" cries Clive, who by these playful names had
been wont to designate Hannah these twenty years past.

"A young gentleman and a young lady a kissing of each other in the
railway coach," says Hannah, jerking up with her finger to the ceiling,
as much as to say, "There she is! Lar, she be a pretty young creature,
that she be! and so I told Miss Martha." Thus differently had the news
which had come to them on the previous night affected the old lady and
her maid.

The news was, that Miss Newcome's maid (a giddy thing from the county,
who had not even learned as yet to hold her tongue) had announced with
giggling delight to Lady Anne's maid, who was taking tea with Mrs.
Hicks, that Mr. Clive had given Miss Ethel a kiss in the tunnel, and
she supposed it was a match. This intelligence Hannah Hicks took to her
mistress, of whose angry behaviour to Clive the next morning you may now
understand the cause.

Clive did not know whether to laugh or to be in a rage. He swore that he
was as innocent of all intention of kissing Miss Ethel as of embracing
Queen Elizabeth. He was shocked to think of his cousin, walking above,
fancy-free in maiden meditation, whilst this conversation regarding her
was carried on below. How could he face her, or her mother, or even her
maid, now he had cognisance of this naughty calumny? "Of course Hannah
had contradicted it?" "Of course I have a done no such indeed," replied
Master Clive's old friend; "of course I have set 'em down a bit; for
when little Trimmer said it, and she supposed it was all settled between
you, seeing ho