her folly, but she suffered from them nevertheless. When the summer
was getting past its height of beauty, and the streets were all sun
and misty heat, and the grass in the parks looked brown, and the
rooms were so close that even Aunt Jane had one window open, Kate
grew giddy in the head almost every morning, and so weary and dull
all day that she had hardly spirit to do anything but read story-
books. And Mrs. Lacy was quite poorly too, though not saying much
about it; was never quite without a head-ache, and was several times
obliged to send Kate out for her evening walk with Josephine.

It was high time to be going out of town; and Mrs. Lacy was to go and
be with her son in his vacation.

This was the time when Kate and the Wardours had hoped to be
together. But "the natural consequence" of the nonsense Kate had
talked, about being "always allowed" to do rude and careless things,
and her wild rhodomontade about romping games with the boys, had
persuaded her aunts that they were very improper people for her to be
with, and that it would be wrong to consent to her going to Oldburgh.

That was one natural consequence of her folly. Another was that when
the De la Poers begged that she might spend the holidays with them,
and from father and mother downwards were full of kind schemes for
her happiness and good, Lady Barbara said to her sister that it was
quite impossible; these good friends did not know what they were
asking, and that the child would again expose herself in some way
that would never be forgotten, unless she were kept in their own
sight till she had been properly tamed and reduced to order.

It was self-denying in Lady Barbara to refuse that invitation, for