r a pause she said:

'But you haven't shown me your dresses. I loved the one you wore at the
ball.'

'Yes, yes: I must show you my cream-coloured dinner-dress, and my ruby
dress, too. You haven't seen that either,' cried Olive. 'Come along,
Barnes, come along.'

'But I see you use your bedroom, too, as a sitting-room?' she said, as
she glanced at the illustrations in a volume of Dickens and threw down a
volume of Shelley's poetry.

'Oh, that's this lady, here!' cried Olive. 'She says she cannot read in
our room on account of my chattering, so she comes in here to continue
her schooling. I should've thought that she had had enough of it; and
she makes the place in such a mess with bits of paper. Barnes is always
tidying up after her.'

Alice laughed constrainedly, and taking the cream-coloured dress out of
the maid's hands, Olive explained why it suited her. Violet had much to
say concerning the pink trimming, and the maid referred to her late
mistress's wardrobes. The ruby dress, however, drew forth many little
cries of admiration. Then an argument was started concerning the colour
of hair, and, before the glass with hairpins and lithe movements of the
back and loins, the girls explained their favourite coiffures.

'But, Alice, you haven't opened your lips, and you haven't shown me your
dresses.'

'Barnes will show you my dinner-frocks, but I don't think as much about
what I wear as Olive does.'

Violet quickly understood, but, with clever dissimulation, she examined
and praised the black silk trimmed with red ribbons. 'She's angry
because we didn't look at her dresses first,' Olive interjected; and
Violet came to Alice's rescue with a question: 'Had they heard lately of
Lord Kilcarney?' Olive protested that she would sooner die than accept
such a little red-haired thing as that for a husband, and Violet laughed
delightedly.

'Anyway, you haven't those faults to find with a certain officer, now
stationed at Gort, who, if report speaks truly, is constantly seen
riding towards Brookfield.'

'Well, what harm is there in that?' said Olive, for she did not feel
quite sure in her mind if she should resent or accept the gracious
insinuation.

'None whatever; I only wish such luck were mine. What with the weather,
and papa's difficulties with his herdsmen and his tenants, we haven't
seen a soul for the last month. I wish a handsome young officer would
come galloping up our avenue some day.'

Deceived, Olive aba