been sixteen at least. Her father was a General Somebody out
in India, and her mother remained in England to superintend the
Darling's education, and see that she did not get her feet wet. As soon
as she was eighteen she would be presented at Court, taken out to India,
and married to the Viceroy at the end of her first season.

The Pet's bedroom was on the third storey of the house, and as its
windows faced the gardens of the Square, she had a fancy for leaving
them undraped, except for the narrow _brise-bise_ over the lower panes.
It probably never occurred to her to remember one little dormer window
perched high in the corner house, which of late days had constituted
Betty Trevor's domain, and she would have been greatly surprised to know
how good a view of her sanctum could be obtained from this vantage-
ground, or how much time its mistress gave to enjoying the same.

All alone in the dark Betty would kneel on a chair and press her face
against the cold panes, staring, staring, muttering to herself--

"She has a fire to dress by--I can see the flames flickering up and
down. What stupid indulgence for a child like that! Electric lights in
pink shades. It does look cosy! The maid is brushing her hair. I can
see her arm going up and down like a machine. Goodness! How long is
she going to keep on? No wonder it shines! I'll brush mine, too. Ten
minutes regularly every night and morning; but I'm always late in the
morning, and too tired at night, so I know I won't. I do hope they come
over here to fasten her dress. It was white last night; on Tuesday it
was blue. What a fuss to make, when there is only Mrs General and the
governess! The Pet plays and sings to them in the drawing-room after
dinner. That hot night when the windows were open we could hear her
distinctly, and it was such a funny little squeak. Jill can imitate it
beautifully. If I couldn't sing better than that I wouldn't sing at
all. ... There! She Is getting up--_pink_ this time! I can see the
maid lacing it up. Well, what next!"

Betty crouched back on her knees and sighed dolorously. It must be nice
to be rich like that and have everything one wanted,--the only adored
darling of the household. It did seem hard that one girl should have
everything she wanted, and another want so much. The furnishing of this
attic bedroom, for instance--everything was a makeshift for something
else which was what she really wanted, and had been u