think, when mother's away?"

"Mother would be very much annoyed if we sent away an old friend, who
has stayed in the house dozens of times, without even offering him a
meal; especially when he has travelled twenty miles to see us!"

"But, my dear, what have we got? I can't give him dinner. There's
nothing in the house but cold meat."

"Cutlets and tinned fruit--the refuge of the destitute! Send Mary
flying to the butcher's!"

"It's Thursday afternoon!"

Nan's groan of dismay brought Ned Talbot's head round in inquiry. The
rings were giving way obediently in his strong grasp, and Lilias was
clapping her hands at each fresh success, and chatting away in animated
fashion. The sisters waited until the work was resumed, and then
continued the whispered conference.

"It always _is_ Thursday when we want anything. People should never be
allowed to shut their shops. Cold meat it must be, then, and nothing
else, I'm afraid. We might manage to manufacture a few made dishes from
the tinned things in the store-room, but _entrees_ and savouries seem
out of place in the middle of spring-cleaning, and the dining-room is
impassable--a perfect block."

"We might alter that if we put out the things that are needed for this
room. We had better go and do it now, for we don't seem needed here any
longer,"--and Maud cast a wistful look towards the two kneeling figures
in the corner. She envied Lilias her position; but it never entered
into her honest heart to mistrust her sister's loyalty, or to put a
cynical construction upon this sudden show of industry. All the girls
were fond of Ned; it was only natural that Lilias should want to help
him. She held out her poor, roughened hands, and looked appealingly at
Nan as they stood outside the drawing-room door.

"I might wash them, mightn't I, and put on a pair of cuffs, and a fresh
tie? I won't change my blouse, of course; but he is a man, and wouldn't
notice what I'd done--only perhaps that I looked a little bit nicer!"

Nan nodded silently, a lump rising in her throat at the sight of the
wistful face. She was the only one of the sisters who had been told the
secret of Maud's heart, and the bond between these two girls was very
strong and tender. She watched Maud until she disappeared from sight,
with her lips screwed tightly together, and her eyebrows meeting in an
ominous frown across her forehead. She felt very fierce and formidable
at that moment, and it was a posi