’Whatever Gillian did was innocent and ladylike, and nothing to be ashamed of,’ said Aunt Jane stoutly; ’of that I am sure.  But I should like to be equally sure that she has not turned the head of that poor foolish young man, without in the least knowing what she was about.  You should have seen her state of mind at his sending her a valentine, which she returned to him, perfectly ferociously, at once, and that was all the correspondence somebody seems to have smelt out.’

’A valentine!  Gillian must have behaved very ill to have brought that upon herself!  Oh dear!  I wish she had never come here; I wish Lily could have stayed at home, instead of scattering her children about the world.  The Rotherwoods will never get over it.’

‘That’s the least part of the grievance, in my eyes,’ said her sister.  ’It won’t make a fraction of difference to the dear old cousin Rotherwood; and as to my Lady, it is always a liking from the teeth outwards.’

‘How can you say so!  I am sure she has always been most cordial.’

‘Most correct, if you please.  Oh, did she say anything about Mysie?’

’She said nothing but good of Mysie; called her delightful, and perfectly good and trustworthy, said they could never have got so well through Phyllis’s illness without her, and that they only wished to keep her altogether.’

’I dare say, to be humble companion to my little lady, out of the way of her wicked sisters.’

‘Jane!’

’My dear, I don’t think I can stand any more defence of her just now!  No, she is an admirable woman, I know.  That’s enough.  I really must go to bed, and consider which is to be faced first, she or Kalliope.’

It was lucky that Miss Mohun could exist without much sleep, for she was far too much worried for any length of slumber to visit her that night, though she was afoot as early as usual.  She thought it best to tell Gillian that Lady Rotherwood had heard some foolish reports, and that she was going to try to clear them up, and she extracted an explicit account as to what the extent of her intercourse with the Whites had been, which was given willingly, Gillian being in a very humble frame, and convinced that she had acted foolishly.  It surprised her likewise that Aunt Adeline, whom she had liked the best, and thought the most good-natured, was so much more angry with her than Aunt Jane, who, as she felt, forgave her thoroughly, and was only anxious to help her out of the scrape she had made for herself.

Miss Mohun thought her best time for seeing Kalliope would be in the dinner-hour, and started accordingly in the direction of the marble works.  Not far from them she met that young person walking quickly with one of her little brothers.

‘I was coming to see you,’ Miss Mohun said.  ’I did not know that you went home in the middle of the day.’

’My mother has been so unwell of late that I do not like to be entirely out of reach all day,’ returned Kalliope, who certainly looked worn and sorrowful; ’so I manage to run home, though it is but for a quarter of an hour.’