n her. That odious Baroness
had summoned everybody that had ever befriended her. Captain De Baron
had been summoned, and the Marquis, and Mrs. Montacute Jones. And the
whole expense, according to Aunt Ju, would fall upon her; for it seemed
to be the opinion of the lawyers that she had hired the Baroness. Then
she said some very severe things against the Disabilities generally.
There was that woman Fleabody making a fortune in their hall, and would
take none of this expense upon herself. She thought that such things
should be left to men, who after all were not so mean as women;--so, at
least, said Aunt Ju.

And then there was new cause for wonderment. Lord Brotherton had been
summoned, and would Lord Brotherton come? They all believed that he was
dying, and, if so, surely he could not be made to come. "But is it not
horrible," said Lady Susanna, "that people of rank should be made
subject to such an annoyance! If anybody can summon anybody, nobody can
ever be sure of herself!"

On the next morning Lord George himself came down to Brotherton, and
Mary with a carriage full of precautions, was sent into the deanery to
meet him. The Marchioness discovered that the journey was to be made,
and was full of misgivings and full of enquiries. In her present
condition, the mother expectant ought not to be allowed to make any
journey at all. The Marchioness remembered how Sir Henry had told her,
before Popenjoy was born, that all carriage exercise was bad. And why
should she go to the deanery? Who could say whether the Dean would let
her come away again? What a feather it would be in the Dean's cap if
the next Popenjoy were born at the deanery. It was explained to her
that in no other way could she see her husband. Then the poor old woman
was once more loud in denouncing the misconduct of her youngest son to
the head of the family.

Mary made the journey in perfect safety, and then was able to tell her
father the whole story. "I never heard of anything so absurd in my
life," said the Dean.

"I suppose I must go, papa?"

"Not a yard."

"But won't they come and fetch me?"

"Fetch you? No."

"Does it mean nothing."

"Very little. They won't attempt to examine half the people they have
summoned. That Baroness probably thinks that she will get money out of
you. If the worst comes to the worst, you must send a medical
certificate."

"Will that do?"

"Of course it will. When George is here we will get Dr. Loftly, and he
w