had taken a lease of the place, and her
troubles extended beyond her mere bridal wardrobe. Large trunks of
household linen had arrived, and all this linen was marked with the
name of Greenow; Greenow, 5.58; Greenow, 7.52; and a good deal had
to be done before this ancient wealth of housewifery could probably
be converted to Bellfield purposes. "We must cut out the pieces,
Jeannette, and work 'em in again ever so carefully," said the widow,
after some painful consideration. "It will always show," said
Jeannette, shaking her head. "But the other would show worse," said
the widow; "and if you finedraw it, not one person in ten will notice
it. We'd always put them on with the name to the feet, you know."

It was not quite true that Cheesacre had bespoke the dinner out in
the field, although no doubt he thought he had done so. The little
treat, if treat it was, had all been arranged by Mrs Greenow, who
was ever ready to create festivities. There was not much scope for
a picnic here. Besides their own party, which, of course, included
the Captain and Mr Cheesacre, no guest could be caught except the
clergyman;--that low-church clergyman, who was so anxious about his
income, and with whom the old Squire had quarrelled. Mrs Greenow
had quickly obtained the advantage of his alliance, and he, who was
soon to perform on her behalf the marriage ceremony, had promised to
grace this little festival. The affair simply amounted to this, that
they were to eat their dinner uncomfortably in the field instead of
comfortably in the dining-room. But Mrs Greenow knew that Charlie's
charms would be much strengthened by a dinner out-of-doors.
"Nothing," she said to Kate, "nothing makes a man come forward so
well as putting him altogether out of his usual tack. A man who
wouldn't think of such a thing in the drawing-room would be sure to
make an offer if he spent an evening with a young lady down-stairs in
the kitchen."

At two o'clock the gig from Penrith arrived at the Hall, and for the
next hour both Cheesacre and the Captain were engaged in preparing
the tables and carrying out the viands. The Captain and Charlie
Fairstairs were going to lay the cloth. "Let me do it," said
Cheesacre taking it out of the Captain's hands. "Oh, certainly," said
the Captain, giving up his prize. "Captain Bellfield would do it much
better," said Charlie, with a little toss of her head; "he's as good
as a married man, and they always do these things best."

Th