On that Wednesday evening Mary Masters said nothing to any of her family as to the invitation from Lady Ushant. She very much wished to accept it. Latterly, for the last month or two, her distaste to the kind of life for which her stepmother was preparing her, had increased upon her greatly. There had been days in which she had doubted whether it might not be expedient that she should accept Mr. Twentyman\'s offer. She believed no ill of him. She thought him to be a fine manly young fellow with a good heart and high principles. She never asked herself whether he were or were not a gentleman. She had never even inquired of herself whether she herself were or were not especially a lady. But with all her efforts to like the man,—because she thought that by doing so she would relieve and please her father,—yet he was distasteful to her; and now, since that walk home with him from Bragton Bridge, he was more distasteful than ever. She did not tell herself that a short visit, say for a month, to Cheltenham, would prevent his further attentions, but she felt that there would be a temporary escape. I do not think that she dwelt much on the suggestion that Reginald Morton should be her companion on the journey,—but the idea of such companionship, even for a short time, was pleasant to her. If he did this surely then he would forgive her for having left him at the bridge. She had much to think of before she could resolve how she should tell her tidings. Should she show the letter first to her stepmother or to her father? In the ordinary course of things in that house the former course would be expected. It was Mrs. Masters who managed everything affecting the family. It was she who gave permission or denied permission for every indulgence. She was generally fair to the three girls, taking special pride to herself for doing her duty by her stepdaughter;—but on this very account she was the more likely to be angry if Mary passed her by on such an occasion as this and went to her father. But should her stepmother have once refused her permission, then the matter would have been decided against her. It would be quite useless to appeal from her stepmother to her father;—nor would such an appeal come within the scope of her own principles. The Mortons, and especially Lady Ushant, had been her father\'s friends in old days and she thought that perhaps she might prevail in this case if she could speak to her father first. She knew well what would be the great, or rather the real objection. Her mother would not wish that she should be removed so long from Larry Twentyman. There might be difficulties about her clothes, but her father, she knew would be kind to her.

At last she made up her mind that she would ask her father. He was always at his office-desk for half an hour in the morning, before the clerks had come, and on the following day, a minute or two after he had taken his seat, she knocked at the door. He was busy reading a letter from Lord Rufford\'s man of business, asking him certain questions about Goarly and almost employing him to get up the case on Lord Rufford\'s behalf. There was a certain triumph to him in this. It was not by his means that tidings had reached Lord Rufford of his refusal to undertake Goarly\'s case. But Runciman, who was often allowed by his lordship to say a few words to him in the hunting-field, had mentioned the circumstance. "A man like Mr. Masters is better without such a blackguard as that," the Lord had said. Then Runciman had replied, "No doubt, my Lord; no doubt. But Dillsborough is a poor place, and business is business, my Lord." Then Lord Rufford had remembered it, and the letter which the attorney was somewhat triumphantly reading had been the consequence.

"Is that you, Mary? What can I do for you, my love?"

"Papa, I want you to read this." Then Mr. Masters read the letter. "I should so like to go."

"Should you, my dear?"

"Oh yes! Lady Ushant has been so kind to me,—all my life! And I do so love her!"

"What does mamma say?"

"I haven\'t asked mamma."

"Is there any reason why you shouldn\'t go?"

Of that one reason,—as to Larry Twentyman,—of course she would say nothing. She must leave him to discuss that with her mother. "I should want some clothes, papa; a dress, and some boots, and a new hat, and there would be money for the journey and a few other things." The attorney winced, but at the same time remembered that something was due to his eldest child in the way of garments and relaxation. "I never like to be an expense, papa."

"You are very good about that, my dear. I don\'t see why you shouldn\'t go. It\'s very kind of Lady Ushant. I\'ll talk to mamma." Then Mary went away to get the breakfast, fearing that before long there would be black looks in the house.

Mr. Masters at once went up to his wife,—having given himself a minute or two to calculate that he would let Mary have twenty pounds for the occasion,—and made his proposition. "I never heard of such nonsense in my life," said Mrs. Masters.

"Nonsense,—my dear! Why should it be nonsense?"

"Cocking her up with Lady Ushant! What good will Lady Ushant do her? She\'s not going to live with ladies of quality all her life."

"Why shouldn\'t she live with ladies?"

"You know what I mean, Gregory. The Mortons have dropped you, for any use they were to you, long ago, and you may as well make up your mind to drop them. You\'ll go on hankering after gentlefolks till you\'ve about ruined yourself."

When he remembered that he had that very morning received a commission from Lord Rufford he thought that this was a little too bad. But he was not now in a humour to make known to her this piece of good news. "I like to feel that she has got friends," he said, going back to Mary\'s proposed visit.

"Of course she has got friends, if she\'ll only take up with them as she ought to do. Why does she go on shilly-shallying with that young man, instead of closing upon it at once? If she did that she wouldn\'t want such friends as Lady Ushant. Why did the girl come to you with all this instead of asking me?"

"There would be a little money wanted."

"Money! Yes, I dare say. It\'s very easy to want money but very hard to get it. If you send clients away out of the office with a flea in their ear I don\'t see how she\'s to have all manner of luxuries. She ought to have come to me."

"I don\'t see that at all, my dear."

"If I\'m to look after her she shall be said by me;—that\'s all. I\'ve done for her just as I have for my own and I\'m not going to have her turn up her nose at me directly she wants anything for herself. I know what\'s fit for Mary, and it ain\'t fit that she should go trapesing away to Cheltenham, doing nothing in that old woman\'s parlour, and losing her chances for life. Who is to suppose that Larry Twentyman will go on dangling after her in this way, month after month? The young man wants a wife, and of course he\'ll get one."

"You can\'t make her marry the man if she don\'t like him."

"Like him! She ought to be made to like him. A young man well off as he is, and she without a shilling! All that comes from Ushanting." It never occurred to Mrs. Masters that perhaps the very qual............