heard no rats, and could well
bear some kicks at night, and being drummed awake at some strange hour
in the morning.

Mrs. Loveday arrive soon after the little party had gone down stairs.
She said the children were to remain until her ladyship had decided
where to send them; and she confirmed their report that his Honour
was recovering quickly. As soon as he was sufficiently well to leave
Bowstead he was to be brought to London, and married to Lady Arabella
before going abroad to make the grand tour; and as a true well-wisher,
Mrs. Loveday begged Miss Delavie not to hold out when it was of no use,
for her Ladyship declared that her contumacy would be the worse for
her. Aurelia's garrison was, however, too well reinforced for any vague
alarms to shake even her out works, and she only smiled her refusal, as
in truth Mrs. Loveday must have expected, for it appeared that she had
secured a maid to attend on the prisoners; an extremely deaf woman, who
only spoke in the broken imperfect mode of those who have never heard
their own voice, deficiencies that made it possible that Madge would
keep the peace with her.

Lady Belamour had also found another piece of work for Aurelia. A dark
cupboard was opened, revealing shelves piled with bundle of old letters
and papers. There was a family tradition that one of the ladies of the
Delavie family had been an attendant of Mary of Scotland for a short
time, and had received from her a recipe for preserving the complexion
and texture of the skin, devised by the French Court perfumer. Nobody
had ever seen this precious prescription; but it was presumed to be
in the archives of the family, and her ladyship sent word that if Miss
Delavie wished to deserve her favour she would put her French to some
account and discover it.

A severe undertaking it was. Piles of yellow letters, files of dusty
accounts, multitudes of receipts, more than one old will had to be
conned it was possible to be certain they were not the nostrum. In the
utter solitude, even this occupation would have been valuable, but with
the little girls about her, and her own and their property, she had
alternative employments enough to make it an effort to apply herself to
this.

Why should she? she asked herself more than once; but then came the
recollection that if she showed herself willing to obey and gratify my
Lady, it might gain her good will, and if Sir Amyas should indeed hold
out till Mr. Wayland came home--Her h