brougham, which she had hired for the occasion, dropped her cards from
house to house in peace; accordingly, too, she caught the
maids-of-all-work in their undress toilets, and the humble homes looking
their least pretentious.

The bazaar was nearly at an end, when at last, accompanied by her two
plainly-dressed, but dainty looking girls, she appeared on the scene.

The Northbury folk had all been watching for her. Those who had been
fortunate enough to enter the sacred precincts of the Manor watched with
interest, mingled with approval. (Her icy style was quite
_comme-il-faut_, they said.) Those who had been met by the
frightened handmaid's "not at home" watched with interest, mixed with
disapproval, but all, all waited for Mrs. Bertram with interest.

"How late these fashionable people are," quote Miss Peters. "It's
absolutely five o'clock. My dear Martha, do sit down and rest yourself.
You look fit to drop. I'll keep an eye on the door and tell you the very
moment Mrs. Bertram comes in. Mrs. Gorman Stanley has promised to
introduce us. Mrs. Gorman Stanley was fortunate enough to find Mrs.
Bertram in. It was she who told us about the drawing-room at the Manor.
Fancy! Mrs. Bertram has only a felt carpet on her drawing-room. Not even
a red felt, which looks warm and wears. But a sickly green! Mrs. Gorman
Stanley told me _as a fact_ that the carpet was quite a worn-out
shade between a green and a brown; and the curtains--she said the
_drawing room_ curtains were only cretonne. You needn't stare at
me, Martha. Mrs. Gorman Stanley never makes mistakes. All the same,
though she couldn't tell why, she owned that the room had a
_distingué_ effect. _En règle_, that was it; she said the room
was _en règle_."