cious that they, and not the new-comer, were
the ones to be overcome with confusion. The silence lasted for a good
two minutes, and was broken at last by Miss Peggy herself.

"Cream _and_ sugar!" she said, in a tone of sweet insinuation. "Two
lumps, if you please. Not very strong, and as hot as possible. Thank
you! So sorry to be a trouble."

Esther fairly jumped with surprise, and seizing the teapot, filled the
empty cup in haste. Then she remembered the dreaded airs of the
boarding-school miss, and her own vows of independence, and made a
gallant effort to regain composure.

"No trouble at all. I hope that will be right. Please help yourself.
Bread--and--butter--scones--cake! I must introduce you to the rest, and
then you will feel more at home! I am Esther, the eldest, a year older
than you, I think. This is Mellicent, my younger sister, fourteen last
February. I think you are about the same age." She paused a moment,
and Peggy looked across the table and said, "How do you do, dear?" in an
affable, grandmotherly fashion, which left poor Mellicent speechless,
and filled the others with delighted amusement. But their own turn was
coming. Esther pulled herself together, and went on steadily with her
introductions. "This is Maxwell, my brother, and these are father's two
pupils--Oswald Elliston, and Robert--the Honourable Robert Darcy." She
was not without hope that the imposing sound of the latter name would
shake the self-possession of the stranger, but Peggy inclined her head
with the air of a queen, drawled out a languid, "Pleased to see you!"
and dropped her eyes with an air of indifference, which seemed to imply
that an "Honourable" was an object of no interest whatever, and that she
was really bored by the number of her titled acquaintances. The boys
looked at each other with furtive glances of astonishment. Mellicent
spread jam all over her plate, and Esther unconsciously turned on the
handle of the urn and deluged the tray with water, but no one ventured a
second remark, and once again it was Peggy's voice that opened the
conversation.

"And is this the room in which you pursue your avocations? It has a
warm and cheerful exposure."

"Er--yes! This is the schoolroom. Mellicent and I have lessons here in
the morning from our German governess, while the boys are in the study
with father. In the afternoon, from two to four, they use it for
preparation, and we go out to classes. We have m