look too hideous, darling?"

"Beautiful, of course. The only thing is ..."

Miss Luscombe clapped her hands and laughed.

"Did its little girlie really look as nice as all that? Oh, Mummy,
Mummy!"

"Charming, dear, I only wish that ..."

"It's too proud of its little daughter, that's what it is," said Miss
Luscombe, sitting on the arm of her mother's chair. "It's a silly, vain,
conceited mother, that it is. It can't see any fault in its pet."

She tried to pat her mother's cheek. Mrs. Luscombe moved aside with
justifiable irritation.

"Don't do that, Flora! Yes, dear, of course, I think you're wonderful,
and looked sweet to-day; but I do wish ..."

"No, no, it doesn't want anything," said Flora.

"I should be so pleased--if you'd put on just a little less lip-salve
and not quite so much of that bluish powder."

Having succeeded in completing her sentence, her mother got up and faded
quickly out of the room and shut the door, leaving Flora looking quite
surprised and rather upset with being found fault with.

Indeed, she did not quite recover her equanimity until she had looked
over the cards in the hall and put on a great deal more powder and
lip-salve, after which she told her mother perhaps she was right, and in
any case she, Flora, would always do what she asked, and would always
follow her dear, dear Mummy's advice.

She was so charming and amiable that Mrs. Luscombe pretended to believe
her, and said it was _sweet_ of her to take it all off and go out that
evening without any adventitious aids to beauty; and this she said in
spite of the obvious fact that Flora had evidently put on considerably
more than usual.

CHAPTER X

MISCHIEF

The elder Mrs. Wyburn was seated at the gloomy window of her
sulky-looking house in Curzon Street one bright day in the season,
looking out with some anxiety.

"Of course she's late; but if that woman doesn't come I'll never forgive
her. She's a silly fool, but at least she does hear what's going on,"
she reflected.

At this moment an old-fashioned-looking victoria drove up, drawn by two
large grey horses. In it sat a rather fat and important-looking lady,
with greyish red hair, a straight decided mouth, and several firm chins.
Her most marked characteristic was her intense decision on trivialities.
She was always curiously definite on the vaguest of subjects, and
extraordinarily firm and sensible about nothing in particular.

Miss Westbury was a rich unm