"When you do that, we will boycott you," said Kate, in her frank way; "as long as you keep it, we will do nothing to make you miserable. Now, come along and take your seat in the carriage."

"But surely we are not going to travel third class?" began Matilda.

"Yes, we are," answered Kate; "because the majority of us prefer to save our money. Now, hop in. No, you are not to take the corner, that is Molly's seat; don't you see her umbrella there?"

Molly would have given up her coveted corner to Matilda, but a glance from Kate prevented this. The four girls found themselves rather crowded, and Matilda, under different circumstances, would have shown a good deal of selfishness and ill-nature; but the infection of three perfectly happy people was too much for her, and she found herself joining in the mirth, and even adding her quota to the jokes, before the journey had come to an end. Late in the evening the girls arrived at Whitby, where they were met not only by the boys, but by a large, roomy wagonette, into which they all tumbled helter-skelter. The luggage was crowded up on the driver's seat, and squeezed into every imaginable corner, and soon the happy party started on their way. It wanted but three days to Christmas; the moon was at the full, the stars shone brightly, there was a keen frosty feel in the air. It was impossible on such an occasion to be anything but merry and cheerful; the boys cracked jokes; Maurice sat close to Cecil with his arm round her waist; Jimmy made himself comfortable by leaning against Molly, and finally dropping his curly head on her shoulder; and Charlie and Teddy, after a little demur, began to devote themselves to Matilda. They did not much care for her look, but they thought it would be fun to draw her out. Accordingly, they sat at each side of her, and regaled her with false information with regard to the scenery and the country generally. The boys were keen naturalists; Matilda had lived all her life, except when at school, in London.

"Isn't the air delicious?" said Teddy. "Rather too warm, if anything."

"Why, I am perfectly shivering," answered Matilda. "I wish you could feel my hands. Oh, this is much worse than London!" she continued. "Fancy driving in an open conveyance in the month of December; my chilblains will get much worse from this biting, frosty air."

"Do you suffer from chilblains?" asked Charlie, in a sympathetic voice. "Did you ever have one on your nose?"

"No," said Matilda, with a little cry. "Oh, horrors! do people get them on their noses in the country?"

"Well, I don't, because I'm acclimatized," said Charlie; "but one of the fellows in my form generally gets one in the beginning of the winter; it worries him a good bit. He used to live in London, and he never suffered there—he says it is the change to the country. Is your nose cold now? If it is, I'll get out and bring in a little snow. If you rub it hard with snow, you may not suffer; if you don't——"

"Oh, what will happen?" asked Matilda.

"It may be frost-bitten; that's much more serious than chilblains. Perhaps I'd better get the snow."

"Charlie, what are you talking about?" interrupted Maurice. "Please don't mind a word he says, Miss Matthews; it isn't a bit colder here than in London, and people don't get chilblains on their noses, if they take exercise enough. Come along, Teddy and Charlie, you both change places with me and talk to Cecil for a bit; she has no end of things to tell you. I will sit near you, Miss Matthews, and point out some of the beauties of the country."

The transfer was quickly made, and Matilda found her fears soothed and her vanity agreeably tickled by Maurice's courteous attentions. The short drive came quickly to an end; the lodgings were found to be perfection; a boisterous supper ensued, after which Cecil, Kate, Molly, and the boys ran down to the shore. Matilda, who was very nervous on the subject of chilblains, elected to stay at home, and Maurice, with a wistful glance at his sister and her friends, offered to remain with her, but Molly put a stop to that.

"You are the grown-up one of the party," she said, with a smile at the handsome lad; "we want you to protect us. I think, Matty, you will find a book in my bag, if you like to open it."

"Thanks," said Matilda, "but I am so sleepy I shall go straight to bed; I hope the servant has put a hot bottle in my bed. I suppose there is no objection to my ordering a fire in my room, is there, Molly?"

"Oh, none whatever," replied Molly; "if Miss Pantry does not object to the trouble."

"I can pay for what I require," said Matilda, in a gruff tone.

She walked deliberately to the bell and rang it. The servant, a good-natured, round-cheeked girl, soon answered the summons.

"Will you light a fire in my bedroom directly?" said Matilda, "and have the goodness to let me know when it has blazed up bright and cheerful."

"Well, girls, come on if you are coming," said Maurice.

The others left the house, and Matilda was alone.

"What in the world did you bring her for?" said Jimmy, the moment they got outside.

"Now, look here, Jimmy," said Cecil, "we are not going to begin that sort of conversation at the very commencement of our holidays. Matilda is here, and we must make the best of her. But for Molly, we should none of us be having this delightful treat; Matilda is Molly's guest, and I expect her to be treated civilly."

"I wouldn't be rude to a lady for the world," said Teddy, drawing himself up.

"Nor I," burst from Charlie's lips; "only she doesn't seem to be your sort, Molly, nor yours, Cecil, nor yours, Miss O'Connor."

"Race me to the shore, Jimmy," said Kate suddenly.

The moonlight covered the wide white road, the smell of the sea came to Kate's nostrils, the grand sound of the sea to her ears.

"Oh, I can almost believe myself back in Ireland again," she said, with a sort of panting sigh. "I must run, or the delight of it all will be too much for me. Come along, Jimmy, I see by the shape of your legs you are a good runner. Now, one, two, and away."

Kate's running was almost as swift as the wind. Jimmy, Teddy, and Charlie eagerly joined in the race; Molly, Cecil, and Maurice walked behind.

"Oh," said Molly, "what good this will do Kate! she is a different creature already. I do hope Matilda will go to bed early every night. Perhaps she will if we make her room thoroughly comfortable."

"If I thought that——" said Maurice, with a smile.

"Why, what would you do, dear?" asked his sister.

"I'd see to the lighting of that fire myself; but look here, Ceci, the boys must not tease her too much. You know Charlie and Teddy are little imps of mischief, and Jimmy is so clever, there's no being up to him when he is bent on sport, as he calls it. The best and the worst of it is, that Matilda will never see when they are poking fun at her. Did you hear them to-night about chilblains? I know perfectly well what they'll do. They'll be as polite as little angels until they find out all her weak points, and then, woe betide her, more especially if she has a secret fear."

"You must talk to them," said Cecil. "Matilda is Molly Lavender's guest, and it will be very shabby of us to give her a bad time."

"But you don't really like her, do you, Molly?" asked Maurice.

"Not really," answered Molly.

"She is the thorn in the rose," said Cecil, with a sigh. "You know we can never expect perfection here, Maurice, old boy, and our holiday would be too good were it not for Matilda. Well, now, let us talk of something else; you must have a lot to tell me. How have you got on with Mr. Danvers? Is the poor, good-natured man still in the land of the living?"

"I should rather think he is! He's the best fellow going," said Maurice, with enthusiasm. "I wish I could tell you half what he has done for me, Cecil. He coaches me in Greek and Latin every evening before he goes to bed, and I have got on like a house on fire. I shall be in the sixth next term. In short, I am nearly safe to win that scholarship."

"You must have worked very hard, Maurice," said Cecil.

"Well, I did put on the screw a good bit, but how could I help it when I thought of you pegging away?"

"And how are the other boys doing?" asked Cecil.

"Jimmy and Charlie are doing famously; Teddy's idle. Mr. Danvers says there's no real work in him; but then he is young yet, and you can't expect us all to have old heads on young shoulders, can you, Cecil?"

"No, no; I'm perfectly content with you as you are," answered Cecil. "I wish I could thank Mr. Danvers for what he has done for you."

"Well, you will have an opportunity, for he has actually promised to come to St. Jude's before the new year—that is, provided you will promise me beforehand never to invite him either to dinner or tea. He's awfully shy of women, and we'll have to humor him with regard to all his little pet weaknesses."

"But I want really to get to know him," said Cecil.

"Well, perhaps you will if you are careful. You must just make his acquaintance without seeming to make it. If once he caught sight of a girl like Matilda, he would fly the place—I know he would. Now, that Irish girl, Kate—what do you call her?"

"Kate O'Connor."

"Kate O'Connor, well, she'd be just his sort; he'd compare her to one of his Greek heroines, Iphigenia or Persephone. He doesn't mind thinking of women, and even talking of them, if he can compare them to Greeks, but the modern English sort! oh, we will try to keep him from talking about them. He once saw you, Cecil; he said you had the patient sort of look which Penelope used to wear—that was his sole remark about you; he shut up his lips then, and rumpled his hair, and went to the stove to cook some bacon. By the way, he's the best cook I ever came across in all my life. I wish you could taste his toffee."

"Toffee!" cried Cecil. "Can Mr. Danvers stoop to toffee?"

"Oh, can't he? We were doing it up in the back bedroom. He caught us over it one night with a saucepan with a hole in the bottom—the smell was awful; the stuff was going through on to the fire. His whole face got scarlet; he rushed downstairs, and brought up a china-lined saucepan of his own. Teddy had to fly for half a pound of butter, a pound of moist sugar, and a quarter of a pound of almonds. He stood over that toffee until it was cooked to perfection, and then he poured it out on to a large tin, and the next day, when it was cold, he cut it up and gave it to us. He was more excited than any of us over it."

"I tell you what it is," said Molly; "Mr. Danvers shall make toffee for us—yes, for us—when he comes to St. Jude's; we'll manage it somehow."

"You must look like a Greek goddess, or he won't," said Maurice; "and I am not sure that you are quite the style."

"Oh, yes, she is," said Cecil, with a laugh; "she'd make a lovely little Alcestis."

"No, I shouldn't," answered Molly, with a laugh. "I am much—much too modern; I'll allow you, Cecil, and Kate, to do the Greek heroines to perfection, but I shall stick to just being a modern English girl. Who knows but that I may conquer Mr. Danvers' prejudices, and get him to drop his dislike to the English girl of the latter half of the century."