a typical governess, who rejoiced in framing
stilted sentences and in letting them flow from her lips in an even,
monotonous voice.

"You speak like a well-informed guide-book," she added, with another
yawn.

Margaret took the semi-impertinent remark as a compliment.

"I can tell you a great deal more than that about Hampstead if you would
like to listen," she said, for her wonderfully accurate memory had
enabled her to retain every word of the banteringly given description
of Hampstead with which Eleanor had furnished her. Needless to say,
Eleanor had had no idea that Margaret would think it necessary to repeat
it word for word, but had thought that Margaret would only pick out facts
here and there to help her in any emergency that might arise.

"Not on any account, thanks," said Maud hastily; "let's talk about
something more interesting."

"Something more interesting" proved to be her own self, and from that
point onwards until they reached their destination Maud talked
exclusively of her own doings. And as she appeared to do little else but
play games, and as Margaret's knowledge of all games was "nil," it
followed that very much of what Maud said was as unintelligible as though
she had talked Chinese. But though she never knew when Maud was talking
of golf, or when of tennis, or again, when hockey was under discussion,
so that handicaps, and sliced balls, and American services, and good
forearm drives, and double faults, and poor passing, and good shooting,
and half-volleys, were terms that were all jumbled up in absolutely
inextricable confusion, her expression of rapt attention as she jotted
them down on the tablets of her mind, resolving to acquaint herself with
the meaning of each when occasion served, convinced Maud that she had a
properly appreciative listener. A person even more ignorant of games than
Margaret would have gathered from all she said about them that Maud
excelled in each and all.

And that was no vain boast either. Her golf handicap was four; she played
an exceedingly good, hard game at tennis, and had twice played hockey in
International matches. But it was of billiards she was talking during the
last few minutes of their drive. It appeared from what she said that she
had promised to play a game with Geoffrey immediately after dinner, but
that she had not only broken that promise but had been obliged to come
away in the middle of dinner to meet the train.

"Oh, I am so sorry to have cau