esent at The Follies; and saying that if all went well Mrs. Cunliffe
herself proposed to pay a visit to Lady Jane within the next fortnight.
In the meantime, owing to the sad circumstances at Sunnyside, she would
send a box of clothes that very day from London for Rosamund's use.

"Now I will go and find Irene," said Rosamund. "You must have perfect
confidence in me, Lady Jane, and if I do things that you do not quite
approve of, you must nevertheless be satisfied that I am dealing with
Irene as I think best. Oh, dear Lady Jane, how tired you look, and how
sad!"

"This is a very sad day for me," said Lady Jane. "It is the anniversary
of my most beloved husband's death. I cannot but feel it; but that child
has no mercy. I am going now to visit his grave, in order to put a cross
of beautiful flowers there. Any other girl would accompany her mother on
such an errand, but of course Irene will not."

Rosamund did not reply for a minute; then she said gently:

"Perhaps she will come with you next year, dear Lady Jane. You cannot
reform a nature like hers in a moment."

Lady Jane kissed Rosamund and left the room; and Rosamund, being
perfectly free to do exactly what she pleased, and being also refreshed
and strengthened by her sleep and her good food, went in search of
Irene.

She soon found her swinging in her favorite attitude in one of the
beech-trees. The moment the girl saw her, she sprang to the ground, ran
to her side, flung her arms round her neck so tightly as almost to
throttle her, and kissed her over and over again.

"Your face looks as if you meant to stay."

"I do mean to stay just as long as you are good."

"Then, gracious me!" said Irene, "that won't be for long; because the
utmost I can be good for is five minutes at a time. You see, I never was
good at all--I never attempted to be--so it didn't enter into my
calculations, and now to suddenly turn into a model of all the virtues
is more than I can do even for your sake."

"I do not expect impossibilities. I only want you to try."

"Well, you are not so precious good yourself."

"I'm not at all good. We'll try to be good together."

"It will be fun our both trying," said Irene, looking at her with a
comical expression. "How are we to begin? Shall we do penance like the
old monks? Do you know, Rosamund"--here Irene linked her thin, almost
steel-like little hand inside Rosamund's arm--"that I am a most
voracious reader? Father was a great collecto