sighed again, and put out the other slipper.

"He must be very rich!--a palace in Barcelona--a palace!"

"Other people have castles in Spain," replied Agatha, without any of
that filial respect which our grandmothers were pleased to affect.
There was nothing old-fashioned or effete about Agatha--she was, on
the contrary, essentially modern.

The elder lady did not catch the allusion, and dived deep into
thought. She supposed that Agatha had met and danced with other
rich Spaniards, and could have any one of them by the mere raising
of her little finger. Her attitude towards her daughter was that of
an old campaigner who, having done well in a bygone time, has the
good sense to recognise the deeper science of a modern warfare,
being quite content with a small command in the rear.

To carry out the simile, she now gathered from this conversational
reconnaissance that the younger and abler general at the front was
about to alter the object of attack. She had, in fact, come in not
to warm, but to inform herself.

"Mrs. Harrington seemed to take to Luke," said Agatha, behind her
hair.

"Yes," answered Mrs. Ingham-Baker, proceeding carefully, for she was
well in hand--"wonderfully so! Poor Fitz seems to stand a very good
chance of being cut out."

"Fitz will have to look after himself," opined the young lady. "Did