Mr. Harcourt, of Hillside; and in becoming
the mistress of one of the coveted Hill houses, Geraldine had not yet
consented to lay down the sceptre of her home rule.

Mrs. Ross had acquiesced cheerfully in this arrangement. She had lost
her right hand in losing Geraldine; and during the brief honeymoon both
she and her younger daughter Audrey felt as though the home machinery
were somewhat out of gear. No arrangement could be effected without a
good deal of wondering on Mrs. Ross's part as to what Geraldine might
think of it, and without a lengthy letter being written on the subject.

It was a relief, at least to her mother's mind, when young Mrs. Harcourt
returned, and without a word took up the reins again. No one disputed
her claims. Now and then there would be a lazy protest from Audrey--a
concealed sarcasm that fell blunted beneath the calm amiability of the
elder sister. Geraldine was always perfectly good-tempered; the sense of
propriety that guided all her actions never permitted her to grow hot in
argument; and when a person is always in the right, as young Mrs.
Harcourt believed herself to be, the small irritations of daily life
fall very harmlessly. It is possible for a man to be so cased in armour
that even a pin-prick of annoyance will not find ingress. It is true the
armour may be a little stifling and somewhat inconvenient for work-a-day
use, but it is a grand thing to be saved from pricks.

Mrs. Harcourt was presiding at the little tea-table in the Woodcote
drawing-room; there were only two other persons in the room. It was
quite an understood thing that the young mistress of Hillside should
walk over to Woodcote two or three afternoons in the week, to give her
mother the benefit of her society, and also to discuss any little matter
that might have arisen during her brief absence.

Mrs. Harcourt was an exceedingly handsome young woman; in fact, many
people thought her lovely. She had well-cut features, a good
complexion--with the soft, delicate colouring that only perfect health
ever gives--and a figure that was at once graceful and dignified. To add
to all these attractions, she understood the art of dressing herself;
her gowns always fitted her to perfection. She was always attired
suitably, and though vanity and self-consciousness were not her natural
foibles, she had a feminine love of pretty things, and considered it a
wifely duty to please the eyes of her lord and master.

Mrs. Harcourt had the