e the others troublesome?" asked Rosamund, her eyes
sparkling.

"I cannot say that they are particularly troublesome now that you are
away."

Rosamund lowered her lids, but her eyes danced. She looked on the
ground.

"If I am to go back to the school next term, and take Irene with me, I
don't know how I shall bear it," she said to herself.

Mrs. Merriman, however, was nothing if not to the point.

"My dear," she said slowly, "it is my husband's lot and mine to have to
earn money in a way which is in no way congenial to either of us."

"But you are always so kind! You never gave any trouble of any sort,"
was Rosamund's response. "You seemed to understand us in a sort of
fashion. It was--Lucy!" she added with a burst.

"Lucy is my darling, beloved, and only child. You must not say a word
against her. I cannot stand it."

"Very well, I will try not to; but you know she does not like me."

"She certainly doesn't; but has she any reason for liking you,
Rosamund?"

"Perhaps she has not; that is quite probable. I know I was not
particularly good when I was at Sunnyside."

"And do you think you are particularly good now?"

"I do not. Perhaps I see my faults more plainly than ever. But I have
helped Irene, and Irene is worth helping."

"I hardly dare to think of what I have come about to-day; but the
Professor has sent me. He has received a letter from your mother, and he
has also seen Mr. Singleton, and Mr. Singleton has suggested an
extraordinary thing. He wants both you and Irene--yes, the dreaded, the
feared Irene--to come to our beautiful house for next term. You were
practically expelled from the school; but he wants you to come back
again, and the Professor has sent me to say that he is willing to
receive you both, on condition that you will not disturb the peace of
the house."

"As far as I am concerned, I will not disturb it; but I cannot answer
for Irene."

"I dread her unspeakably," said Mrs. Merriman. "Do walk with me for a
little down this path, my dear. You, of course, are only an ordinarily
naughty girl. You have been very disobedient, but I can overlook that,
and perhaps understand it; but she--some people say she is not quite
right in the head. Do you think that is true?"

"I know it to be false. She has cleverer brains than most of us."

"Then, if that is the case, she is just extraordinarily wicked--wicked
beyond most people."

"You may think that if you like, Mrs. Merriman, but it is a