“You must not alarm yourself,” the vicar said.  “You know the troops are very widely scattered, and his regiment may not be up in time; beside, you see, the Prussians are likely to be first attacked, and they may beat the French before the English get up to join in the battle.”

“Now, Mrs. Conway,” Mr. Withers said when they had finished breakfast, “please take pity on us and tell us all about it.”

“Is Mabel to go away, or is she to hear it all, James?” Mrs. Withers asked.

“What do you think, Mrs. Conway?”

“I see no reason whatever against her hearing.  Mabel is fast growing up.  You are past fifteen now, are you not, Mabel?”

“Yes, Mrs. Conway.”

“Then I think she has a right to hear all about it.  She is, after all, the party most interested.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Conway,” the girl said.  “Please let us go out into the garden and sit in the chairs under the shade of that tree.  I can see it is going to be a long story, and it will be delightful out there; and then papa can smoke his after-breakfast cigar.”

“Very well, Mabel; if your mamma has no objection, I am quite willing.”

The chairs were taken out into the shade of the tree and the party sat down, Mabel all excitement, for as yet she knew nothing whatever of what had happened, and was puzzling herself in vain as to how Mrs. Conway could have been working in her interest.

“In the first place, Mabel,” Mrs. Conway began, “I suppose you have no idea why you were sent away to Bath?”

Mabel opened her eyes in surprise.

“I thought I went there to get lessons in music and French and dancing.”

“Well, you did go for that purpose, but for something else also.  You were sent away in order that you might not see me.”

“Not see you, Mrs. Conway!  Why, you must be joking.  Why, papa, what reason could there possibly be why I should not see Mrs. Conway?  And beside, you never told me in your letter that she had been here.”

“I have not been here—­at least not in this house; but I was in the church every Sunday.  I was there before you went away, although you did not see me.  I was sitting in the pew with the Hall servants.”

“With the Hall servants!” Mabel repeated in astonishment.  “What did you sit with them for? and where were you staying? and why did you come to the church every Sunday and not come here?”

“That’s just the story you are going to hear, Mabel.  You heard of course, that it was Mr. Penfold’s intention to leave you half his estates?”

“Yes, I heard that; and then there was no will found so of course I didn’t get it.”

“No, my dear; but as we all believed that there was such a will, we were naturally unwilling to let the matter rest.  Still, the chance of finding it seemed very remote.  You remember we spoke to you about it when they offered you that hundred a year.”

“Yes, papa, you told me then that you thought they were keeping me out of my rights, and that was why I ought to refuse to take it.  Yes, you did say they were keeping Ralph out too, and that was partly why you thought I ought not to agree to take the money; and of course I thought so too, because that would seem as if we had deserted Ralph.”