r hollyhocks. Everyone is
talking about them."

They were joined in a few minutes by a prim, dignified little lady,
ridiculously like Mr. Pengarth, whom he called sister, and she Miss
Rachael. Juliet walked down the garden between them.

"Sister," Mr. Pengarth said, "Juliet has come today to see me on
business. In effect, she has come to remind me that she is grown up."

"Grown up," Miss Rachael protested vigorously, "rubbish!"

"I am nineteen years old," Juliet declared.

"And what if you are," Miss Rachael replied briskly. "In my young days
we were in the nursery at nineteen."

"Quite so," Mr. Pengarth assented with relief. "You took me by storm
just now, Miss Juliet. After all, you are only a child."

"I am old enough to feel and to mean all that I said to you, Mr.
Pengarth," she answered gravely. "And that reminds me, too--there was
something else I meant to ask you."

"Sister," Mr. Pengarth said, "have you ordered the wine and the cake?"

"Bless me, no!" Miss Rachael declared. "It shall be ready in five
minutes."

She entered the house. Mr. Pengarth stooped to pick some lavender.

"The only time I ever saw Sir Wingrave Seton," she said, "was on the day
before I was told that a relation of my father had been found, who was
willing to take charge of me. There was a younger man with him, someone
very, very different from Sir Wingrave. Do you know who he was?"

"A sort of secretary of Sir Wingrave, I believe, dear. I never met him.
I was, unfortunately, away at the time they came."

"He was very nice and kind to me," the girl continued, "just as nice as
Sir Wingrave was horrid. I suppose it was because they came on that day,
but I have always connected him somehow with this mysterious relation of
mine. Mr. Aynesworth didn't help to find him, did he?"

"Certainly not!" the lawyer answered. "The instructions I had came first
from Mr. Saunders, the vicar of the parish. It was he who appeared to
have made the necessary inquiries."

"Horrid old man!" she declared. "He used to make me feel that I wanted
to cry every time that I saw him."

"Miss Rachael is calling us," the lawyer declared with obvious relief.

"New cake!" Juliet declared, "I can smell it! Delicious!"

LADY RUTH'S LAST CARD

"There are two letters," Aynesworth announced, "which I have not opened.
One, I think, is from the Marchioness of Westhampton, the other from
some solicitors at Truro. They were both marked private."

Wingrave