home!"

"Did he, indeed!" The colour rose in Darsie's cheeks. "Well, I'm very
glad he did. I like girls best, and I thought _he_ looked conceited and
proud. My best friend has a big brother, too, but he's not a bit like
yours. Rather shaggy, but _so_ clever and kind! He promised to write
to me while I was here, just because he knew I should be dull. It's
really an honour, you know, for he is terrifically clever. Every one
says he will be Prime Minister one day. He's going to Cambridge. Your
brother is, too, isn't he? I shouldn't think they would be at _all_ in
the same set!"

The Percival girls looked at each other and smiled.

"Poor old Ralph! Isn't she blighting? You don't know anything about
him, you know. It's only because he called you a frump, but never mind,
he has to be back to tea to look after some work for father, and then
he'll see! If you are going to be friends with us, you mustn't begin by
disliking our brother. He may be conceited, but he is certainly not
`shaggy,' and he is much nicer to his sisters than most big boys. He
thinks we are really nicer than other girls."

Darsie regarded them critically.

"Well, I think you are!" she conceded graciously. "Oh, how thankful I
am that there is some one _young_ in the neighbourhood. I was beginning
to feel so painfully middle-aged. Let's sit down and talk. Tell me
about yourselves. Do you go to school? Which school? Do you go in for
exams? What subjects do you like best?"

Noreen laughed, and shook her head.

"We have a governess. We are going for a year to a finishing school in
Paris, but mother doesn't approve of exams, for girls. She wants us to
be able to play, and sing, and draw, and speak German and French, and
she says that's enough. We don't bother about Latin or mathematics or
any of those dull old things."

"They are not dull. They're glorious. I revel in them. But you're
rich, of course, and won't have to work. I shall have to earn money
myself, so I want to pass all the exams. I can."

The Percivals stared in solemn surprise. The idea was so strange it
took some time to digest. All their friends were well off like
themselves; really, when they came to think of it, they had never met a
prospective _working_ girl before! They regarded Darsie with a
curiosity tinged with compassion.

"Do you mean it--really? Tell us about yourself? Where do you live?"

"In Birchester, Craven Street, Sandon terrace--the