It was impossible to attribute her silence to absence of mind, for she followed with grave attention every word that was spoken; but for some inexplicable reason she had withdrawn into herself.  Uncle Max left her to herself after a time, and began to talk politics with Mr. Hamilton, and Mr. Tudor was soon compelled to follow his example.

Poor Mr. Tudor!  I rather pitied him, for his other neighbour, Lady Betty, had turned suddenly very sulky, and I had my surmises that Miss Darrell had said something to affront her; for she made snapping little answers when any one spoke to her, and, though they laughed at her, and nobody seemed to mind, most likely they thought it prudent to give her time to recover herself.

Miss Darrell’s radiant good-humour was a strange contrast to her two cousins’ silence.  She threw herself gallantly into the breach, and talked fast and well on every topic broached by the gentlemen.  She was evidently clever and well read, and had dabbled in literature and politics.

Her energy and vivacity were almost fatiguing.  She seemed able to keep up two or three conversations at once.  The lowest whisper did not escape her ear; if Mr. Hamilton spoke to me, I saw her watchful eye on us, and she joined in at once with a sprightly word or two; the next moment she was answering Uncle Max, who had at last hazarded a remark to his silent neighbour.  Miss Hamilton had no time to reply; her cousin’s laugh and ready word were before her.

I found the same thing happen when Mr. Tudor addressed me:  before he had finished his sentence she had challenged the attention of the table.

‘Giles,’ she said good-humouredly, ’do you know what Mr. Tudor said in the drawing-room just now, that it was the bounden duty of the Heathfield folk to spoil and make much of Miss Garston?’

Both Mr. Tudor and I looked confused at this audacious speech, but he tried to defend himself as well as he could.

’No, no, Miss Darrell, that was not quite what I said; the whole style of the sentence is too laboured to belong to me:  “bounden duty,”—­no, it does not sound like me at all.’

‘We need not quarrel about terms,’ she persisted; ’your meaning was just the same.  Come, Mr. Tudor, you cannot unsay your own words, that it was right for you all to make much of Miss Garston.’

I thought this was spoken in the worst possible taste, and I am sure Mr. Hamilton thought so too, for he smiled slightly and said, ’Nonsense, Etta! you let your tongue run away with you.  I daresay that was not Tudor’s meaning at all; he is the most matter-of-fact fellow I know, and could not coin a compliment to save his life.  Besides which, I expect he has found out by this time that it would be rather difficult to spoil Miss Garston.  That cuts both ways, eh!’ looking at me rather mischievously.