r, that you are not her own niece at all, and
that very few women would be as kind to her husband's people as she is
to you and me. She says frankly----"

"Oh, what an odious frank way she has!" interrupted Florence.

"She says frankly," pursued Mrs. Aylmer, wiping the moisture from her
brow as she spoke, "that we are the greatest worry to her, both of us,
and that she does not care a pin for either of us, but that she does
not want to have it said that her husband's people are in the
workhouse, and that is why she is doing what she is doing."

"Oh, Mummy," said Florence, "can you bear her? When you tell me those
sort of things I just long to throw her gifts in her face and to say
boldly, 'We won't take another halfpenny from you, we will go to the
workhouse to spite you, we'll tell every one we can that we are
connected with you. Yes, we'll go to the workhouse to spite you.'"

"That's all very well, Florence," replied Mrs. Aylmer, rising as she
spoke and shaking the crumbs from her dress outside the window. "I
doubt if it would vex your Aunt Susan very much, and it would vex us a
considerable deal, my love. Your Aunt Susan's relations might not even
hear of it, and we would be miserable and disgraced for ever. No, we
must swallow our pride and take her money; there is no help for it.
But if you get the Scholarship, Flo, she is the kind of woman who would
be proud of you, she is really. If she thought you had any gift she
would turn round in jiffy and begin to spend money properly on you.
She asked me in her last letter what sort of girl you were growing up,
and if you had a chance of being handsome, for, said she, 'if Florence
is really handsome, I might take a house in London and give her a
season. I enjoy taking handsome girls about, and I am a right good
matchmaker.' That is what she said, the horrid old cat. But you are
not handsome, Florry, not a bit."

"I know," replied Florence, "I know. Well, mother, we must make the
best of things. You may be certain I won't leave a stone unturned to
get the Scholarship."

"You will get it, dear, and then your education will be secured, and by
and by you will get a post as governess, a good post in some
fashionable family, and perhaps you would meet a nice young man who
would fall in love with you. They do over and over in the
story-books--the nice young man, the heir to big properties, meets the
governess girl and falls in love with her, and then she gets a