that, whatever the issue of Louise's appeal to her stepfather, this
was a very good opportunity for getting rid of their guest. They
would wait till Louise made known the upshot of her negotiations. It
seemed probable that Mr. Higgins would spare them the unpleasantness
of telling Miss Derrick she must leave. If not, that disagreeable
necessity must be faced.

'I had rather cut down expenses all round,' said Emmeline, 'than
have our home upset in this way. It isn't like home at all. Louise
is a whirlwind, and the longer she stays, the worse it'll be.'

'Yes, it won't do at all,' Mumford assented. 'By the bye, I met
Bilton to-day, and he asked after Miss Derrick. I didn't like his
look or his tone at all. I feel quite sure there's a joke going
round at our expense. Confound it!'

'Never mind. It'll be over in a day or two, and it'll be a lesson to
you, Clarence, won't it?'

'I quite admit that the idea was mine,' her husband replied, rather
irritably. 'But it wasn't I who accepted the girl as a suitable
person.'

'And certainly it wasn't _me_!' rejoined Emmeline. 'You will please
to remember that I said again and again--'

'Oh, hang it, Emmy! We made a blunder, both of us, and don't let us
make it worse by wrangling about it. There you are; people of that
class bring infection into the house. If she stayed here a
twelvemonth, we should have got to throwing things at each other.'