‘Owen,’ she said, during a sudden pause in rather a noisy conversation, ’I hear Rowland is quite a fashionable preacher.  Howel means to ask him down here, I believe.  Miss Simpson went to hear him—­didn’t you, Miss Simpson?’

This was drawled out, and Owen felt very much disposed to get up and shake his sister, as he had often done when she came from school with any new airs and graces.  But he contented himself with saying,——­

’Rowly’s a capital fellow, Netta, fach, and doing his best.  Whether he’s a fashionable preacher or not I don’t know, but he kept us all awake at Llanfach one Sunday for half-an-hour, which is something.’

‘Your brother is so amusing! so naif!  I die of him!’ said Madame Duvet.

‘Very original!’ remarked Miss Simpson; ‘I do like originality—­’

‘Then you must like Netta,’ said Owen; ’for there was never any one of our family the least like her.’

‘Oh yes! you are, about the eyes. Malin!’ said Madame Duvet.

After breakfast, Owen tried to get Netta a little to himself, but there were distant calls to make, and drives and rides to be arranged, which caused him to be unsuccessful in his efforts.  So he fell to the lot of Mr Deep, who took him to see Howel’s hunters and dogs, and all the other wonders of Abertewey.

‘Deep by name, and deep by nature,’ was Owen’s reflection, after his morning with his new acquaintance.  ’He has managed to get all my secrets out of me, one excepted; but he has not confided any to me in return.  One thing I suspect, however, that he has a turn for horse-racing and betting.’

Howel and Mr Simpson came home about six o’clock; and the whole party, with the addition of Mr Rice Rice, assembled at dinner.  Howel had ordered his valet to see that ‘Captain Prothero’ was properly dressed; and, accordingly, Owen was obliged to put on a smart waistcoat and tie belonging to Howel, which greatly embellished his outer man, and gave him increased favour in the eyes of Madame Duvet and Miss Simpson.

He was more astounded than ever when he saw his sister in her evening costume.

‘What do you think of her, Owen?’ whispered Howel, as he stood literally gazing at her before dinner.

‘I can’t exactly say,’ was the reply; ’but she is no longer Netta Prothero of the Farm.’

‘I should imagine not!’ said Howel.  ’Pray don’t let us talk of farms here, Owen.  I don’t like conversation that smells of the shop.’

‘Not even of the old place where we used to steal lollilops?’ asked Owen, maliciously.

Howel turned away for fear of being overheard, and devoted himself quite as much to Madame Duvet, as Captain Dancy still did to Netta; and Owen wondered on.

Again he looked at Netta, as she sat curled up on a sofa, a mere child in appearance, but so pretty, in white, with some sort of cherry-coloured ornaments for dress and head, that no one could possibly have recognised her as the country belle of twelve months ago.  ’Her own mother would not know her!’ thought Howel.  ’Poor mother, she would scarcely care for all this grandeur, though one can’t help envying it a little.  I will be off to California, and come home and buy a place, and see whether Gladys would not be as good a fine lady as Netta.’