consent to it. Most injudicious
to display your ignorance before a person whom you have to command. You
must think of something else."

"We might go marketing, and learn what everything costs, and how much
one ought to buy, and--"

"No use, my dear! We get nothing but meat and fish from the village.
Fruit and vegetables come from the garden, and all the groceries from
town."

"We might sew."

"Ha! I have it!" cried Peggy dramatically. "We'll dress-make! What a
joke! We'll each make a blouse, and wear them at dinner one evening.
It will be delightful. Every girl ought to be able to make her own
clothes, and it's so simple, so easy."

"Is it?" Eunice arched her brows in surprise. "Have you ever tried?"

"Not exactly, but they were always doing it at the vicarage, and I used
to help. I always drew the designs, and criticised the things when they
were done. It's quite easy. You get a pattern, pin it to the stuff,
cut it out, run it up, and there you are."

"And you really think I could manage?"

"Of course you could. We will work together, and I'll help you. That's
to say, if you would like to try."

"Oh, I should indeed. Fancy wearing something I had made myself! I'd
be so proud. I'll have mine very, very simple, as plain as possible."

"I sha'n't! Mine shall be elaborate and fussy and mysterious--one of
those things in which you cannot see any fastenings, or imagine how on
earth the owner gets in or out. There's a model in this week's _Queen_
which will be just the thing, and I have a piece of flowered pink silk
upstairs which will do for you as well as for me. It is a remnant which
I bought in Paris. I have a mania for remnants. I always think they
will come in usefully, but somehow they don't. This will be the
exception, however, and it will be nice to be alike!"

"Thank you so much; but you won't tell any one what we are going to do,
will you? We had better not say anything yet, in case we don't
succeed."

"Don't succeed, indeed! Don't let me hear such words, my dear, I beg!
To imagine failure is to invite defeat!" Peggy shook her head with her
most copy-book air. "We shall succeed, and therefore it would be
selfish to keep our plans to ourselves. It will be quite an excitement
in prospect. Let me see: to-day is Tuesday. How would it be if we said
Saturday night?"

"Too soon! Too soon! I should say a week at the very soonest. We
can't manage in less."

"Oh yes, we c