Matters thus dragged on, till the space before the Christmas holidays
was reckoned by weeks, instead of months, and as Mrs. Frederick
Langford laughingly said, she should be fairly ashamed to meet her boy
again at their present home. She therefore easily allowed herself to
be persuaded to accept Mr. Langford's invitation to take up her
quarters at the Hall, and look about her a little before finally
deciding upon the Pleasance. Christmas at Knight Sutton Hall had the
greatest charms in the eyes of Henrietta and Frederick; for many a time
had they listened to the descriptions given con amore by Beatrice
Langford, to whom that place had ever been a home, perhaps the more
beloved, because the other half of her life was spent in London.

It was a great disappointment, however, to hear that Mrs. Geoffrey
Langford was likely to be detained in London by the state of health of
her aunt, Lady Susan St. Leger, whom she did not like to leave, while
no other of the family was at hand. This was a cruel stroke, but she
could not bear that her husband should miss his yearly holiday, her
daughter lose the pleasure of a fortnight with Henrietta, or Mr. and
Mrs. Langford be deprived of the visit of their favourite son: and she
therefore arranged to go and stay with Lady Susan, while Beatrice and
her father went as usual to Knight Sutton.

Mr. Geoffrey Langford offered to escort his sister-in-law from
Devonshire, but she did not like his holidays to be so wasted. She had
no merely personal apprehensions, and new as railroads were to her,
declared herself perfectly willing and able to manage with no
companions but her daughter and maid, with whom she was to travel to
his house in London, there to be met in a day or two by the two school-
boys, Frederick and his cousin Alexander, and then proceed all together
to Knight Sutton.