as an obvious necessity, smiled over its boyish exaggeration, and relished its fun at her own expense, for madame was a woman of wisdom and humor.  Little by little she had learnt the whole of Bessie’s life and conversation from her own lips; and she felt that there was nothing to be feared from a lover of young Musgrave’s type, unless he was set on mischief by the premature interposition of obstacles, of which this denial to Bessie of her Christmas holiday was an example.

However, madame had not to judge, but to act.  She returned Harry Musgrave his letter, with a polite warning that such a correspondence with a girl at school was silly and not to be thought of.  Harry blushed a little, felt foolish, and put the document into the fire.  Madame made him confess to himself that he had gone to Caen as much for bravado as for love of Bessie.  Bessie never knew of the letter, but she cherished her pretty romance in her heart, and when she was melancholy she thought of the garden at Brook, and of the beeches by the stream where they had sat and told their secrets on their farewell afternoon; and in her imagination her dear Harry was a perfect friend and lover.

* * * * *

That episode passed out of date.  Bessie gave her mind to improvement.  Discovery was made that she had a sweet singing voice, and, late in the day as it seemed to begin, she undertook to learn the piano, on the plea that it would be useful if she could only play enough to accompany herself in a song.  She had her dancing-lessons, her drawing-lessons, and as much study of grammars, dictionaries, histories, geographies, and sciences-made-easy as was good for her, and every day showed her more and more what a dunce she was.  Madame, however, treated her as a girl who had des moyens, and she was encouraged to believe that when she had done with school she would make as creditable a figure in the world as most of her contemporaries.

How far off her debut might be no one had yet inquired.  Since her late experiences there was little certainty in Bessie’s expectations of going to Beechhurst for the long vacation which began in July.  And it was salutary that she entertained a doubt, for it mitigated disappointment when it came.  About a fortnight before the breaking up madame sent for her one evening in to the salon, and with much consideration informed her that it was arranged she should go with her to Bayeux and to the sea, instead of going to England.  Bessie had acquired the art of controlling her feelings, and she accepted the fiat in silence.  But she felt a throb of vindictive rage against her grandfather, and said in her heart that to live in a world where such men were masters, women ought to be made of machinery.  She refused to write to him, but she wrote home to Beechhurst, and asked if any of them were coming to see her.  But the loving joint reply of her father and mother was that they thought it better not.