tle
den at liberty," said Jack, laughing, and recovering his complacency
with wonderful quickness. "The servants' hall accommodation is also
limited, and your maid and valet might not appreciate our _menage_. We
had a very stylish pudding the other night. You might give Esmeralda
the recipe, Bridgie."

Esmeralda listened to the history of the beeswax and macaroni with a joy
tempered by regret.

"We never have anything so nice as that!" she sighed. "Never a bit of
excitement as to how things will turn out. D'you remember the day when
old Sukey mixed the lettuce with furniture cream instead of salad-
dressing, and Major Denny was so polite, with a crust of bread under one
end of his plate to let it drain down to the bottom, while he ate his
meat high and dry at the top! 'Twas bad luck that none of us fancied
lettuce that day, but kept pressing him to a second helping."

"Well, we will come here to-morrow morning, then. Don't stay away from
church, for, truthfully, I would rather you were out when we arrived. I
have some rather--large--Christmas presents which must be smuggled in
unobserved. I have some--er--preparations to make to-night, so we can't
stay very long."

Half an hour later husband and wife took their departure, and after
seeing them off, Jack came back into the drawing-room and stood by
Sylvia's couch.

"Esmeralda invariably speaks before she thinks!" he said apologetically.
"There's a lot of pretence about her, but you will be astonished to
find out what a good sort she is when you know her better."

Sylvia smiled with a whimsical twist of the lips. She thought that that
prediction might apply to more than one member of the O'Shaughnessy
family, and cherished a pleasant conviction that Jack's outburst of
indignation had been more on her account than his own. He was not the
type of man to stand on his dignity, and his quick glance into her face
as Esmeralda gave her invitation had been eloquent of understanding.
His protest had saved her from a most distasteful position, and once
again she felt a debt of gratitude towards him.

CHAPTER NINE.

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS.

Christmas morning was heralded by the luxury of a late breakfast, when
no one need hurry off to town, and even Miles could satisfy the demands
of appetite without casting a thought to the time-table. Porridge,
bacon, eggs and sausages laid the foundation of his meal, before he
tackled marmalade, strawberry jam, fresh orang