"I shall be _Ettarre_," said Lily Opie. "The others are all good and
dull; and I prefer her, because I am sure she wasn't! And certainly Lady
Highford must be _Vivien_! She is exactly the type, in one of her
tea gowns!"

Laura rather liked the idea of _Vivien_. It had _cachet_, she thought.
She was very fond of posing as a mysterious enchantress, the mystic
touch pleased her vanity.

So, of the whole party, only Zara did not feel content. Tristram might
think she had chosen this herself, as an advance towards him.

Then the discussion, as to the garments to be worn, began. Numbers of
ornaments and bits of tea-gowns would do. But with her usual practical
forethought, Lady Anningford had already taken time by the forelock, and
asked that one of the motors, going in to Tilling Green on a message,
should bring back all the bales of bright and light-colored merinos and
nunscloths the one large general shop boasted of.

And, amidst screams of delighted excitement from the girls, the immense
parcel was presently unpacked.

It contained marvels of white and creams, and one which was declared the
exact thing for _Isolt_. It was a merino of that brilliant violent shade
of azure, the tone which is advertised as "Rickett's Paris blue" for
washing clothes. It had been in the shop for years, and was unearthed
for this occasion--a perfect relic of later Victorian aniline dye.

"It will be simply too gorgeously wonderful, with just a fillet of gold
round her head, and all her adorable red hair hanging down," Lady