so near together and nobody suspect the relationship, because of
the precautions you have taken.'

'Yet the precautions were rather Lady Petherwin's than mine, as you know.
Consider how she kept me abroad. My marriage being so secret made it
easy to cut off all traces, unless anybody had made it a special business
to search for them. That people should suspect as yet would be by far
the more wonderful thing of the two. But we must, for one thing, have no
visiting between our girls and the servants here, or they soon will
suspect.'

Ethelberta then laid down a few laws on the subject, and, explaining the
other details of her visit, told her father soon that she must leave him.

He took her along the passage and into the area. They were standing at
the bottom of the steps, saying a few parting words about Picotee's visit
to see the dinner, when a female figure appeared by the railing above,
slipped in at the gate, and flew down the steps past the father and
daughter. At the moment of passing she whispered breathlessly to him,
'Is that you, Mr. Chickerel?'

'Yes,' said the butler.

She tossed into his arms a quantity of wearing apparel, and adding,
'Please take them upstairs for me--I am late,' rushed into the house.

'Good heavens, what does that mean?' said Ethelberta, holding her
father's arm in her uneasiness.

'That's the new lady's-maid, just come in from an evening walk--that
young scamp's sweetheart, if what you tell me is true. I don't yet know
what her character is, but she runs neck and neck with time closer than
any woman I ever met. She stays out at night like this till the last
moment, and often throws off her dashing courting-clothes in this way, as
she runs down the steps, to save a journey to the top of the house to her
room before going to Mrs. Doncastle's, who is in fact at this minute
waiting for her. Only look here.' Chickerel gathered up a hat decked
with feathers and flowers, a parasol, and a light muslin train-skirt, out
of the pocket of the latter tumbling some long golden tresses of hair.

'What an extraordinary woman,' said Ethelberta. 'A perfect Cinderella.
The idea of Joey getting desperate about a woman like that; no doubt she
has just come in from meeting him.'

'No doubt--a blockhead. That's his taste, is it! I'll soon see if I
can't cure his taste if it inclines towards Mrs. Menlove.'

'Mrs. what?'

'Menlove; that's her name. She came about a fortnight ago.'

'And