ful little piece that one can go to
after dinner, you know," there were a whole number of Beaminster
observations to make. But as soon as they rose to her mouth something
within her whispered, "You know that you don't mean that. That's at
second hand. Give him your opinion." And then that seemed presumption,
so she said nothing.

It was all wretched and quite endless. Uncle John sent her encouraging
smiles every now and again, but she felt that he must be disappointed at
her failure. The food choked her. The tears filled her eyes and it was
her pride only that saved her. Through it all she felt that her
grandmother upstairs in her bedroom was planning this.

Afterwards the Princess, seeing perhaps that she was unhappy, was kind
and motherly to her, and told her funny stories about her childhood in
Berlin. But all the time Rachel was saying to herself, "You're a fool.
You're a fool. You've got no self-control at all."

She had been dreading the introductions to so many young men, but she
found that that was easy enough. They were not young men; they were
simply numbers on her programme and they vanished as soon as they came.

Then the band in the distance began to play an extra, whilst the young
men wandered about and discovered their friends, and the sound of the
music cheered her. It amused her now to watch the people as they mounted
the stairs. She noticed that all the faces were grave and preoccupied
until a moment before the arrival at Aunt Adela, and then a smile was
tightly fastened on, held for a moment, and then dropped to give way to
the preoccupation again.

The room was so full now that it seemed that it would be quite
impossible for any dancing to take place. Uncle John was working very
hard at introducing people to one another, and as she saw his
good-natured face and his white hair her heart went out to him. If
everyone were as kind as Uncle John how nice the world would be!
Meanwhile her eyes anxiously watched the stairs, and as every woman
turned the corner at the bottom the question was--"Was this May
Eversley?"

There had been a battle about May. Aunt Adela did not like her,
disapproved of her, would not hear of inviting her. Very well, then,
Rachel would not come to the ball at all. They could give the ball for
somebody else. If May were not asked Rachel would not come.

So Lady Eversley and May had both been asked, and of course they had
accepted.

Rachel waited and gazed and was continuall