"You said to-day, I thought," said Lady
Laura, coldly, and rising. "Now, my dears, we
must get our things settled in this place. We
have plenty to do. We shall be in all to-day,
for I feel very tired."

Fermor went home chafing. "What a way
they take things!" he said to himself. "Why
should they be expecting this and that? I am
sure I am old enough now to take my own
course." But what really jarred was their
resigned air of toleration; for he had expected
banners, and bonfires, and acclamations, and
general jubilee.

He arrived at Raglan-terrace in no very good
humour. "Where is Violet?" he said; "please
send her down, as we have no time to lose. Is
she ready?"

Violet was up-stairs, but not ready. The
final decorations were being pushed forward
desperately. Nothing could be found, nothing
was put on right or straight; agitated fingers
tried to attach portions of dress to poor fluttering
Violet's figure. The poor child had been
bathing her face for hours, until it became all
flustered and inflamed, and she had the wildness
that comes from want of sleep. Every
moment expresses came from impatient Fermor
below. At last she came down.

He started back. "What have you been
doing with your face? Good gracious, what is
the matter?"

Violet came up to him timorously. "O, it is
nothing," she said; "we have been in such a
hurry, dear Charles. Let us go."

"But why hurry?" said he. "I thought
that all this morning, surely——Let me see you
in the light. Heavens! Is there no eau-de-
Cologne in the house? This is dreadful!"

"Indeed, indeed, Charles, I tried all I could.
I have been bathing——"

"Ah, that accounts for it," said he, calmly.
"And you must not mind if I make another
remark—but it is too serious an occasion to stand
upon trifles. That bonnet——Where's your
little lace bonnet?"

"O," said her sister, standing by her side
like a workwoman over a piece of work newly
brought home, "this is a new one, just got home
expressly," and she telegraphed a special appeal
to Fermor to forbear further criticism.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Come, let us
go. We must pull through as well as we can."

They went alone, for Lady Laura had said,
"Please let her come without any of her other
people. I really am not equal to it to-day.
Later, of course—but please don't ask me to-
day."

In truth, poor Violet was in the most
unfortunate plight for presentation that could be
conceived. On this day she had determined to
be splendid, and the result was that she looked
a thousand times better in her every-day dress.

As they went in, Fermor said, solemnly,
himself sadly out of humour, "Please recollect all
my instructions. I assure you, though I dare
say you don't see it in that light, you don't know
how much depends upon the next few moments."

Thus encouraged, Violet entered. Primness
and austerity distributed over three persons
welcomed her. Lady Laura rose upon her
gauntly, and wound her thin cartilages about
her. The "girls," with a set smile and faces
cold as china, waited their turn.

"Sit down, pray do," said Lady Laura, looking
curiously into her face. "I am so glad to
know you, I am indeed." The others sat about
and looked at her as curiously, taking her dress
as their department. In utter confusion, and
with Fermor's eye steadily on her, Violet could
only murmur and murmur a little stupidly, when
Lady Laura got out some fashionable platitudes
and gave them to her, and then paused, waiting
to hear how they would be acknowledged—
Violet could only say she was "so kind," and
"so——" an encomium that reached no greater
maturity. She heard Fermor change his place
in his chair impatiently, and her small forces fell
into complete disorder.

Alicia Mary was busy with that unlucky
bonnet, and Violet felt it. The conversation
languished terribly.

"We must come to know you a little better,"
said Lady Laura; "if you have any spare
moments, we shall always be delighted to see you.
In time, you will have, of course, more
confidence in me. Alicia, you will make out Mrs.
Manuel's address; we shall be delighted to
leave cards and make her acquaintance."

Alicia Mary and Blanche and Laura gave her
a cold accolade, and said they supposed they
should meet her during the season in Town,
which they also supposed she found "delightful."

Violet, in a tone that seemed to deprecate
any violence, said she didn't know. She was
longing to be gone. Fermor abruptly stood up.
He was angry, and saw that it had been
unsatisfactory; yet, curiously enough, he was not
so much angry with Violet as with his relations.
"I don't want their patronising airs. I can do
in spite of them." And as he walked away he
relieved Violet's mind unspeakably, by telling
her that she had done fairly, very fairly indeed.
He fumed against them all the way home. But
the breeze was not able to carry him further
than that day.

CHAPTER XXIX. SIR HOPKINS EXAMINES THE
GROUND.

ON the next morning, excited by a sort of
curiosity, he went to see his family again, and
said, with an air of unconcern, "Well, how did
you find her?" Lady Laura, with an
affectation of ingenuity, sent out her daughters
on various pretexts. "I did not like," she said,
confidentially, "to speak of it before them.
Now, tell me what time are you thinking of for
the marriage. We shall, of course, try and meet
your views in every possible way."

"O yes," said Fermor, "quite so. But you
were satisfied on the whole?"

He saw that Lady Laura was kindly trying to
avoid giving her opinion. "Don't be afraid,"
he said; "tell me candidly. I am not a boy
now, you know."