may be foolish, but these convictions are borne in
upon me; I cannot help them!" cried Elsie, clasping her hands and
opening her blue eyes to the fullest capacity, as she turned a gaze of
mysterious raptness upon the group by the fireplace. "Perhaps in years
to come we may look back upon this evening as a milestone marking out
the past from the future, and realise--"

A burst of laughter put a stop to further sentimentalising, and Elsie
retired within her shell, aggrieved and dignified; but for once she was
right in her surmises, for her own fate and that of her sisters was
indeed destined to be permanently affected by the coming of the new
tenant of the Grange.

CHAPTER FOUR.

CASTLES IN THE AIR.

The news that the Grange was sold was truly of great interest to the
Rendell family, for the house faced their own on the opposite side of
the road, and its uninhabited condition had been a standing grievance.
That one of the handsomest houses of the neighbourhood should remain
empty was a serious matter in a small community, and the younger girls
listened with bated breath to the accounts of the gorgeous
entertainments which had been given by the last tenant, hoping against
hope that the time would soon come when the house would once more be
thrown open, and the great oak-panelled rooms re-echo to the sound of
music and laughter. Like their own house, a portion of the Grange
abutted on to the high road, so that a row of windows lay immediately
open to inspection; but two great wings stretched back to right and
left, and the house was surrounded on three sides by beautiful and
extensive grounds. The late owner had spent lavishly in beautifying the
place, and had asked in return a sum so exorbitant, that though many
would-be tenants had arrived to look over the house, one and all drew
back when the nature of his demands was made known, and the Rendell
girls were not the only people who had despaired of a settlement. But
now at last a delightful certainty had been gained, the deeds were
signed, and the long waiting was at an end!

The morning after the news had been received, Agatha and Christabel
rushed to the porch-room directly after breakfast, and flattened their
noses against the pane to watch for the first sign of their chosen
companion, that same Kitty of whom mention has already been made, and
who came daily to join the schoolroom party, instead of indulging in the
luxury of a governess of her own. She c