prestige in the school.

Until the advent of Betty Vivian, Fanny was rather a favorite at Haddo
Court. She was certainly not the least bit original. She was prim and
smug and self-satisfied to the last degree, but she always did the right
thing in the right way. She always looked pretty, and no one ever
detected any fault in her. Her mistresses trusted her, and some of the
girls thought it worth their while to become chums with her.

Fanny, however, now saw at a glance that she was in the black looks of
the other Specialities. This fact angered her uncontrollably, and she
made up her mind to bring Betty to further shame. It was not sufficient
that she should be expelled from the Speciality Club; the usual formula
must be gone through. All the girls knew of this formula; and they all,
with the exception of Fanny, wished it not to be observed in the case of
Betty Vivian. But Fanny knew her power, and was resolved to use it. The
Speciality Club exercised too great an influence in the school for its
existence to be lightly regarded. A member of the club, as has been
said, enjoyed many privileges besides being accorded certain exemptions
from various irksome duties. It was long, long years since any member
had been dismissed in disgrace; it was certainly not within the memory
of any girl now in the school. But Fanny had searched the old annals,
and had come across the fact that about thirty years ago a Speciality
had done something which brought discredit on herself and the club, and
had therefore been expelled; she had also discovered that the fact of
her expulsion had been put up in large letters on a blackboard. This
board hung in the central hall, and generally contained notices of
entertainments or class-work of a special order for the day's programme.
Miss Symes wrote out this programme day by day.

On the morning after Betty had been expelled from the Specialities,
Fanny ran up to Miss Symes. "By the way," she said, "I am afraid you
will have to do it, for it is the rule of the club."

"I shall have to do what, my dear Fanny?"

"You will just have to say, please, on the blackboard that Betty Vivian
is no longer a member of the Specialities."

Miss Symes stopped writing. She was busily engaged notifying the hour of
a very important German lesson to be given by a professor who came from
town. "What do you mean, Fanny?"

"What I say. By the rules of the club we can give no reasons, but must
merely state that Bett