Harry looked about under his eye-lids for Evan, trying at the same time to compose himself for the martyrdom he had to endure in sitting at table with the presumptuous fellow.  The Countess signalled him to come within the presence.  As he was crossing the room, Rose entered, and moved to meet him, with:  ‘Ah, Harry! back again!  Glad to see you.’

Harry gave her a blunt nod, to which she was inattentive.

‘What!’ whispered the Countess, after he pressed the tips of her fingers.  ‘Have you brought back the grocer?’

Now this was hard to stand.  Harry could forgive her her birth, and pass it utterly by if she chose to fall in love with him; but to hear the grocer mentioned, when he knew of the tailor, was a little too much, and what Harry felt his ingenuous countenance was accustomed to exhibit.  The Countess saw it.  She turned her head from him to the diplomatist, and he had to remain like a sentinel at her feet.  He did not want to be thanked for the green box:  still he thought she might have favoured him with one of her much-embracing smiles: 

In the evening, after wine, when he was warm, and had almost forgotten the insult to his family and himself, the Countess snubbed him.  It was unwise on her part, but she had the ghastly thought that facts were oozing out, and were already half known.  She was therefore sensitive tenfold to appearances; savage if one failed to keep up her lie to her, and was guilty of a shadow of difference of behaviour.  The pic-nic over, our General would evacuate Beckley Court, and shake the dust off her shoes, and leave the harvest of what she had sown to Providence.  Till then, respect, and the honours of war!  So the Countess snubbed him, and he being full of wine, fell into the hands of Juliana, who had witnessed the little scene.

‘She has made a fool of others as well as of you,’ said Juliana.

‘How has she?’ he inquired.

‘Never mind.  Do you want to make her humble and crouch to you?’

‘I want to see Harrington,’ said Harry.

’He will not return to-night from Fallow field.  He has gone there to get Mr. Andrew Cogglesby’s brother to do something for him.  You won’t have such another chance of humbling them both—­both!  I told you his mother is at an inn here.  The Countess has sent Mr. Harrington to Fallow field to be out of the way, and she has told her mother all sorts of falsehoods.’

‘How do you know all that?’ quoth Harry.  ’By Jove, Juley! talk about plotters!  No keeping anything from you, ever!’

’Never mind.  The mother is here.  She must be a vulgar woman.  Oh! if you could manage, Harry, to get this woman to come—­you could do it so easily! while they are at the pie-nic tomorrow.  It would have the best effect on Rose.  She would then understand!  And the Countess!’

‘I could send the old woman a message!’ cried Harry, rushing into the scheme, inspired by Juliana’s fiery eyes.  ’Send her a sort of message to say where we all were.’