erating to those who had done their utmost to study her tastes
and to give her a pleasant home-coming. When dinner was over and the
family party adjourned into the drawing-room, she kept jumping up from
her seat to alter the arrangement of plants and ornaments, or to put
some article in its proper place. Norah elevated her eyebrows at
Lettice, who nodded in sympathetic understanding, but both girls
controlled their irritation out of consideration for their father, whose
pleasure in the first evening at home would have been spoiled if his
daughters had taken to quarrelling among themselves.

Mr Bertrand had brought home a perfect treasure-trove of presents for
the stay-at-homes. A beautiful little brooch and bangle for Lettice;
music, books, and a paint-box for Norah: furs for Miss Briggs; and a
small toy-shop for the dear little "youngest of seven."

Such an excitement as there was in the drawing-room while the
presentations were going on! such shrieks of delight! such exclamations
of "Just what I wanted!" such huggings and kissings of gratitude! Mr
Bertrand declared at last that he would be pulled to pieces, and ran
upstairs to the shelter of his beloved study. After he had gone, Hilary
seemed for the time being to forget her grievances, whatever they might
be, and drawing her chair to the fire, settled down to one of the good
old-fashioned gossips which her sisters loved Lettice and Norah had a
dozen extra questions which they were burning to ask about every
incident of the visit to London; and they were not more eager to hear
than Hilary was to tell, for what is the good of going away and having
adventures if we cannot talk about them when we come home?

The meeting with Madge Newcome was a subject of much interest. "Quite
grown-up, you say, and very grand and fashionable! And you went to
lunch with her one day. Are the boys at home? What are they like?
There was Cyril, the little one in the Eton jacket, who used to play
with Raymond; and Phil, the middy; and the big one who was at college--
Arthur, wasn't he? What is he like now?"

"I saw him only once, but it was quite enough. He is in business with
his father--a terribly solemn, proper person, who talks about books, and
says, `Were you not?'--`Would you not?' Miss Carr says he is very
clever, and good, and intellectual, but all the same, I am sure she
doesn't like him. I heard her describe him to father as `that wooden
young man.' It will be nice