rder; while Lady Tranmore flushed deeply, and began
a hasty conversation with Lady Edith Manley. Meanwhile Kitty,
quite unconscious, "went on cutting"--or rather, dispensing
"bread-and-butter"; and Lord Parham changed the subject.

"What a charming house!" he said, unwarily, waving his hand towards the
Haggart mansion. He was short-sighted, and, in truth, saw only that it
was big.

Kitty looked at him in wonder--a friendly and amiable wonder. She said
it was very kind of him to try and spare her feelings, but, really,
anybody might say what they liked of Haggart. She and William weren't
responsible.

Lord Parham, rather nettled, put on his eye-glass, and, being an
obstinate man, still maintained that he saw no reason at all to be
dissatisfied with Haggart, from the aesthetic point of view. Kitty said
nothing, but for the first time a gleam of mockery showed itself in her
changing look.

Lady Tranmore, always nervously on the watch, moved forward at this
point, and Lord Parham, with marked and pompous suavity, transferred his
conversation to her.

Thus assured, as he thought, of a good listener, and delivered from his
uncomfortable hostess, Lord Parham crossed his legs and began to talk at
his ease. The guests round the various tea-tables converged, some
standing and some sitting, and made a circle about the great man. About
Kitty, too, who sat, equally conspicuous, dipping a biscuit in milk, and
teasing her small dog with it. Lord Parham meanwhile described to Lady
Tranmore--at wearisome length--the demonstrations which had attended his
journey south, the railway-station crowds, addresses, and so forth. He
handled the topic in a tone of jocular humility, which but slightly
concealed the vast complacency beneath. Kitty's lip twitched; she fed
Ponto hastily with all possible cakes.

"No one, of course, can keep any count of what he says on these
occasions," resumed Lord Parham, with a gracious smile. "I hope I talked
some sense--"

"Oh, but why?" said Kitty, looking up, her large fawn's eyes bent on the
speaker.

"Why?" repeated Lord Parham, suddenly stiffening. "I don't follow you,
Lady Kitty."

"Anybody can talk sense!" said Kitty, throwing a big bit of muffin at
Ponto's nose. "It's the other thing that's hard--isn't it?"

"Lady Kitty," said the Dean, lifting a finger, "you are plagiarizing
from Mr. Pitt."

"Am I?" said Kitty. "I didn't know."

"I imagine that Mr. Pitt talked sense sometimes," said Lord