clever. Of her and Harry Clavering together no one had ever said a word.
If any words had been spoken between her and Hermione on the subject,
the two sisters had been discreet enough to manage that they should go
no further.

In those short months of Julia's romance Sir Hugh had been away from
Clavering, and Hermione had been much occupied in giving birth to an
heir. Julia had now lived past her one short spell of poetry, had
written her one sonnet, and was prepared for the business of the world.




Chapter II

Harry Clavering Chooses His Profession



Harry Clavering might not be an usher, but, nevertheless, he was home
for the holidays. And who can say where the usher ends and the
school-master begins? He, perhaps, may properly be called an usher, who
is hired by a private schoolmaster to assist himself in his private
occupation, whereas Harry Clavering had been selected by a public body
out of a hundred candidates, with much real or pretended reference to
certificates of qualification. He was certainly not an usher, as he was
paid three hundred a year for his work--which is quite beyond the mark
of ushers. So much was certain; but yet the word stuck in his throat and
made him uncomfortable. He did not like to reflect that he was home for
the holidays.