g the Blacks.'

Nuttie had great designs of constantly seeing Annaple, sending her
supplies from the gardens and preserves at Bridgefield, taking her out
for drives, and cultivating a friendship between Alwyn and Willie, who
had taken to each other very kindly on the whole. They could not
exactly understand each other's language, and had great fights from
time to time over toys, for though there was a year between them they
were nearly equal in strength; but they cared for each other's company
more than for anything else, were always asking to go to one another,
and roared when the time of parting came; at least Alwyn did so
unreservedly, for Nuttie had begun to perceive with compunction that
Billy-boy was much the most under control, and could try to be good at
his mother's word, without other bribe than her kiss and smile. Ah!
but he had a mother!

CHAPTER XXX.

NUTTIE'S PROSPECTS.

'Three hundred pounds and possibilities.'--Merry Wives of Windsor.

Again Nuttie's plans were doomed to be frustrated. It did not prove to
be half so easy to befriend Mr. and Mrs. Mark Egremont as she expected,
at the distance of half London apart, and with no special turn for
being patronised on their side.

Her father took a fancy for almost daily drives with her in the park,
because then he could have Alwyn with him; and the little fellow's
chatter had become his chief amusement. Or if she had the carriage to
herself, there was sure to be something needful to be done which made
it impossible to go into the city to take up and set down Mrs. Mark
Egremont; and to leave her to make her way home would be no kindness.
So Nuttie only accomplished a visit once before going out of town, and
that was by her own exertions--by underground railway and cab. Then
she found all going prosperously; the blacks not half so obnoxious as
had been expected (of course not, thought Nuttie, in the middle of the
summer); the look-out over the yard very amusing to Billy-boy; and the
large old-fashioned pannelled rooms, so cool and airy that Annaple was
quite delighted with them, and contemned the idea of needing a holiday.
She had made them very pretty and pleasant with her Micklethwayte
furniture, whose only fault was being on too small a scale for these
larger spaces, but that had been remedied by piecing, and making what
had been used for two serve for one.

The kitchen was on the same floor, close at hand, which was well, for
Annaple