their sakes as well as my own,that she'll remember all I said about the bonnet."
Two or three days later saw her again at Miss Halliday's. The bonnetwas ready, and this time Stasy was with her sister, having faithfullypromised to behave with immaculate propriety. Blanche's face was verygrave as she lifted out her handiwork--or more strictly speaking,Stasy's, for it was the young girls clever fingers that were usuallyentrusted with orders of special importance--out of its nest oftissue-paper, and held it up for their visitors inspection.
Out came Lady Harriot's _pince-nez_.
"Very nice, very nice indeed, so far as I can tell before trying it on.I will do so at once." And she proceeded to divest herself of thebonnet she had on, a creation which Stasy's eyes took in with silenthorror.
"Stasy!" said Blanche, when the new erection was placed on LadyHarriot's head, and there was a decided touch of triumph in her tone.
Stasy came a little nearer.
"It must be just a shade farther forward," she said, skilfully touchingit as she spoke.
Lady Harriot submitted, but looked at the girl with surprise.
"Do you mean to say?" she began, hesitating.
"Oh yes," said Blanche, replying to the unspoken inquiry. "My sister'smuch cleverer at millinery than I am. She always does our mostparticular things."
"Really," said Lady Harriot; but she could not say more, for by thistime she was absorbed in her own reflection in the looking-glass.
"Doesn't it look nice?" said Blanche gleefully. "You _are_ pleased withit, aren't you, Lady Harriot?"
"Yes; it really does you great credit. I like it better than any bonnetI've had in London this year. You have so thoroughly carried out all mysuggestions--that is a great point for young beginners."
"And, of course, we have the benefit of Miss Halliday's experience,too," said Blanche, glancing towards their good little friend, who, shewas determined, should not be left altogether out in the cold.
Miss Halliday smiled back to her. It was a proud day for the millinerwhen a woman of Lady Harriot's position patronised her shop, but she waswell content that all the honour and glory should fall to the sisters'share.
"Ah yes, of course," Lady Harriot replied civilly. "Now, my dear MissDerwent, I shall make a point of wearing this bonnet everywhere. I wishmy nephew could see me in it. He is very particular about what I wear,and he's really quite rude about my bonnets sometimes. I must get mywinter ones from you, and then he will see them, for he is out ofEngland just now for some time.--Is Mrs Derwent at home this afternoon?"she went on. "Do you think she could see me?"
"I am sure she would be very pleased," said Blanche readily. "She is inthe drawing-room," and as she spoke she led the way thither.
Lady Harriot exerted herself to be more than agreeable, and Mrs Derwentwas really won over, by her visitors praise of her daughters, to meether present cordiality responsively.
"By-the-bye," said Lady Harriot, as she rose to take leave, "I expect afew neighbours the day after to-morrow at afternoon tea. I shall havesome people staying in the house by then, and we like to have tea in thegarden in this lovely weather. Couldn't you manage to come over?"
Blanche glanced at her mother doubtfully.
"We are really very busy," Blanche began; but her mother interruptedher.
"I think you might give yourselves a holiday for once," she said, andthe old lady hastened to endorse this.
"Yes, indeed," she said good-naturedly. "All work and no play. Ohdear, I forget the rest, but I'm sure it meant it wasn't a good thing.Won't you bring them yourself, Mrs Derwent? Your younger daughter isnot out, I suppose; but you know this sort of thing doesn't count, doesit?"
Mrs Derwent smiled.
"We can't think much about questions of that kind, now," she said. "ButI shall be very glad to bring Stasy too."
"That's right," said Lady Harriot, increasingly pleased with thembecause she was feeling so very pleased with herself. "Then I shallexpect you between four and five. You may like to walk about thegrounds a little if you come early," she added to Mrs Derwent, "as youused to know the place so well.--And remember, my dear," she said toBlanche in conclusion, "that whomever I introduce you to, it will bedone with a purpose. It will be an excellent thing for you to see someof the people about, especially as I shall make a point of wearing mybonnet."
Blanche's face looked very grave when their visitor had taken leave, andher mother glanced at her anxiously, fearing that Lady Harriot'seminently clumsy remarks at the end had annoyed her.
"You mustn't mind it, dear," she said. "She is a stupid, awkward woman,but she means to be kind now, and we must really take people as we findthem, to some extent."
Blanche started as if recalling her thoughts, which had, indeed, beenstraying in a perfectly different direction.
"Of course we must," she said cheerfully. "I don't mind what she saidin the very least. I don't particularly care about going there, it istrue; but if it amuses Stasy, and if you don't mind it, mamma, I daresayI shall like it very well. We may see Miss Milward, and hear about poorLady Hebe." And then for the moment the subject was dismissed, thoughMrs Derwent had her own thoughts about it.
"It is strange," she said to herself, "how things come about. To thinkthat our first invitation of any kind from the people I used to be oneof, should have come in this way--almost out of pity."
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
MRS BURGESS'S CAPS.
Blanche's hope or expectation of meeting Miss Milward at Alderwood wasnot fulfilled. She had not, however, been there many minutes before shecaught sight of Mrs Harrowby, the wife of the Pinnerton vicar, among theguests, and of her she made inquiry as to Rosy's absence.
She was away, paying visits, for a few weeks, Mrs Harrowby replied; andsomething in her manner made Blanche feel that it was better to hazardno further inquiry, as she had been half-intending to do, about LadyHebe herself. For some slight allusion to the East Moddersham familyonly drew forth the remark that the Marths were expected back some timein October.
"Either," thought Blanche, "she doesn't know how bad it is, or she hasbeen asked not to speak of it."
"The guild girls are getting on wonderfully well," volunteered thevicars wife, "thanks to Adela Bracy and her cousin, though, in the firstplace, thanks to you. They miss you very much--indeed, we all do, atPinnerton. Adela says you have been most kind in allowing her to applyto you about some little difficulties that occurred;" as was the case.
"I was so sorry to have to give it up," said Blanche simply. "I onlywish I could help Miss Bracy more."
Just then Lady Harriot appeared with some of the numerous members of theEnneslie family in tow, to whom Miss Derwent was introduced with greatpropriety. Some irrepressible allusions to the bonnet followed on thegood hostess's part, which Blanche minded very much less than the MissesEnneslie minded them for her. They were nice girls, ready to be almostenthusiastic in their admiration of Blanche and of her sister, whom theyoungest of them took under her wing, with the evident intention ofmaking her enjoy herself. And the sight of Stasy's brightening face wasenough to make her sister's spirits rise at once, more especially whenshe saw how, on her side, her mother was enjoying a tour of the groundsunder old Mr Dunstan's escort.
Other introductions followed, several of them to families whose nameswere not altogether unfamiliar to the girl, for as they sat workingtogether, Miss Halliday was not above beguiling the time by a littlelocal gossip of a harmless kind. And Lady Harriot's good offices didnot stop with "the county." Blanche was trotted out, so to say, for thebenefit of some of the Alderwood house-party, her hostess challengingtheir admiration, not only of the _chef d'oeuvre_ reposing on her ownhead, but of the charming "confections," which she described as to beseen in the High Street at Blissmore.
"You must really drive in with me one day, before you leave," she wouldexclaim to some special crony of her own. "You would think yourself inParis, you really would.--And yet none of your things have come fromt
here as yet, have they, Miss Derwent?"
"None of those you saw, I think," Blanche replied, "though I did writefor a few models to a shop we used to get our own things from. The hatI have on is copied from one of them."
"I was just thinking how pretty it was," said the mother of somedaughters, standing beside her. "I should extremely wish to have onelike it for each of my girls, if we may call some day soon. That's tosay, if you don't mind our copying yours, Miss Derwent. It isn't as ifwe lived in this neighbourhood;