doorway.

'I knew you would come,' she said shyly, as Audrey kissed her and put
the flowers in her hands. 'Oh what lovely flowers! Are they for mamma,
Miss Ross? Thank you ever so much! Mamma is so passionately fond of
flowers, and so is Cyril.'

'And not Kester?'

'Oh yes; he loves them too,' burying her face in the delicious
blossoms--'roses especially; they are his favourite flowers. But, of
course, no one thinks of sending them to Kester; he is only a boy.'

'And I daresay you like them, too?'

Mollie vehemently nodded assent.

'Well, then, I shall bring you and Kester some next time. You are right
in thinking those are for your mother. May I go in and speak to
her?--for we have to be very busy, you know.'

'Mamma is not up yet,' returned Mollie; and as Audrey looked surprised,
she added quickly: 'She and Cyril sat up so late last night. She was
wanting to hear all about his evening, and it was such a lovely night
that they were in the garden until nearly twelve o'clock, and so, of
course, she is tired this morning.'

Audrey made no reply to this. Mrs. Blake was charming, but she was
certainly a little erratic in her habits. No wonder there was so little
comfort in the house when the mistress disliked early rising.

Mollie seemed to take it as a matter of course; besides, she was too
much absorbed in the flowers to notice Miss Ross's reproving silence.
She rushed off to find a jug of water, and Audrey turned into the
dining-room, which presented the same aspect of confusion that it had
worn yesterday. Kester was on his knees trying to unpack a hamper of
books. It cost him a painful effort to rise, and he looked so pale and
exhausted that Audrey at once took him in hand.

'My dear boy,' she said kindly, as she helped him to the sofa, 'how very
imprudent! You have no right to try your strength in that way. How could
Mollie let you touch those books!'

'She has everything to do, and I wished to help her,' he returned,
panting with the exertion. 'Cyril wants his books so badly, and he has
put up the bookcase, you see. He did that this morning--he had scarcely
time to eat his breakfast--and then he asked Mollie if she would unpack
the books.'

'I will help Mollie,' returned Audrey, laying aside her hat. 'Now,
Kester, I want to ask you a favour. You will only be in our way here.
Will you please take possession of that nice hammock-chair that someone
has put outside the window? and we will just fly round, a