tuous attachment. That's
serious, because it will lead to the divorce court. Virtues generally
lead to somebody trying to get out of something."

"Pooh!" Sir Peter grunted. "You've got that out of some damned French
novel. You must have virtue, the place has got to be kept up somehow,
hasn't it? If what you say is true--and I don't for a moment admit a
word of it--I don't see how you're going to sugar things over with a
couple of hundred people trampling up my lawn?"

"Estelle likes people," Lady Staines replied. "My idea is to make her a
success. I will introduce her to everybody worth knowing. I'll get some
of our people down from town. They'll hate it, of course; but they'll be
curious to see what's up. Of course they won't see anything. At the end
of the day, if it's all gone off well--I'll have a little talk with
Estelle. I shall tell her first what I think of her; and then I shall
offer to back her if she'll turn over a new leaf. Winn'll do his part
for the sake of the boy, if she meets him half way. I give religion its
due--he wants to do his duty, only he doesn't see what it is. He must
live with his wife. His prayers will come in nicely afterwards."

Sir Peter chuckled. "There's something in your idea, Sarah," he
admitted. "But it's a damned expensive process. All my strawberries will
go. And if it rains, everybody'll come into the house and scuttle over
my library like so many rabbits."

"I'll keep them out of the library," said Lady Staines, rising, "and I
shall want a hundred pounds."

She left the library after a short series of explosions, with a check
for seventy-five. She had only expected fifty.

The garden party was, if not a great success, at least a great crowd.

The village was entertained by sports in a field, backed by beer in
tents, and overseen by Winn with the delighted assistance of the younger
Peter.

Lady Staines, in stiff purple satin, strode uncomfortably up and down
herbaceous borders, exposing the ignorance of her fellow gardeners by a
series of ruthless questions.

Charles and James, who had put in an intermittent appearance in the hope
of a loan from Sir Peter, did their best to make things go. Charles had
brought down a bull terrier, and the bull terrier brought down, first
one of the donkeys that was to take part in the sports, but was
permanently incapacitated from any further participation either in sport
or labor, then two pet lap dogs, in a couple of sharp shakes on the