voked at the whole affair, and regretted that he
had promised to remain another day. Could not Miss Elizabeth have
guessed--pshaw! what an ass he was, how was she to know?--that a motley
and miscellaneous collection of people was his distinct aversion! A
rustic Olla podrida, an Omnium-gatherum was not to his taste. It was
his last evening too, and he would have to make himself pleasant to
strangers.

He knew what these impromptu garden-parties meant. People drove over
from distant villages and expected to remain late. There would be no
dinner, no coffee on the terrace, no songs in the dimly-lighted
drawing-room. Ah, just so, was not Cedric endorsing his thought at this
very moment?

"Betty is a trump, Die! She has thought of just the right people. I
suppose we shall have a scratch meal when the rush has gone. But we
must ask the Brent girls to have a snack with us."

"Oh, of course, Elizabeth said so at once, and she mentioned the Ross
party too. Tina and Patty will expect to remain--they always do, and
they think the drive back by moonlight the best part of the fun. Very
well, Cedric dear, you will go over on your bicycle and leave the
notes?"

"Well, I don't mind taking trouble in a good cause," he returned in a
virtuous tone; and then Dinah, with an air of great satisfaction,
addressed herself to her guest.

"I wonder if you would care to drive Elizabeth over to Earlsfield this
afternoon; she has a good many commissions to execute. Brookes has to
wait for the vet, as one of our carriage horses is lame, and I do not
like her to go alone with James." But Malcolm carefully disguised his
pleasure at this unexpected request.

"Is this Miss Elizabeth's idea too?" His tone rather puzzled Dinah.

"Oh dear, no--at least, I think not. I rather fancy I suggested it to
her."

"And she made no objection?"

"My dear Mr. Herrick, of course not. She will be only too grateful to
you. James is a good lad, but we dare not trust him with Brown Becky,
and though Elizabeth drives very well, she wants to be free for her
business."

"Then in that case I shall be delighted to go," and there was no fault
to be found with Malcolm's tone now. His satisfaction was hardly
diminished by a hair's-breath when Cedric suggested that they might go
round by Rotherwood on their way home and give David a verbal
invitation. "He might be engaged if we waited until to-morrow," he said
seriously; "the busy D--is rather a popular person, and the