this one of getting the truth from
Flossy.

Before dinner was ended, the sound of footsteps, the tuning of
instruments; the clearing of voices could be distinguished in the hall.
Hubert glanced at his host for explanation, which was speedily given.

"It is the village choir," he said confidentially. "They come on
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and sing in the hall. When they have
finished, they all have a glass of wine and drink our healths before
they go down to supper in the kitchen. It's an old custom."

"And a very disagreeable one," said Mrs. Vane calmly. "Your ears will be
tortured, Hubert, by the atrocious noise they make. With your
permission, Enid and I will go to the drawing-room;" and, glancing at
Enid, she rose from her chair.

"My dear Flossy, I entreat of you to stay!" said the General. "You have
never gone away before--it would hurt their feelings immensely. I have
sent word for Dick to be brought down; I mean them to drink his health
too, bless the little man! It will be quite a slight to us all if you go
away."

Flossy smiled ironically, but she looked at Enid in what Hubert thought
a rather peculiar way. He knew his sister's face very well, and he could
not but fancy that there was some apprehension in the glance. Enid sat
still, looking at the tablecloth before her. Her face had grown
perceptibly paler, but she did not move. A little spot of red suddenly
showed itself on each of Mrs. Vane's delicate cheeks.

"Well, Enid, what do you say?" she asked, with less languor of utterance
than usual. "Do you wish to suffer a purgatory of discord? Come--let us
go to the drawing-room; nobody will notice whether we are here or not."

"My dear, I said I wished you to stay," began the General anxiously; but
Florence only laughed a little wildly, and beat her fan once or twice
upon the table.

"Come, Enid. We have had music enough, surely! You are coming?"

"No, I am going to stay here," said the girl, without raising her eyes.
Her tone was exceedingly cold.

Flossy bit her lip, laughed again, and sank back into her chair with an
air of would-be indifference.

"If you stay, I suppose I must," she said lightly; but there was a
strange glitter in her narrowed eyes, and she bit her lip with her
little white teeth so strongly and so sharply as to draw the blood.

"Here comes Dick," said the General, whose placidity was quite restored
by his wife's consent to stay--"here he comes! There, my boy--seen Un