"Perhaps not," he answers lazily; "but there will be, sooner or later, you will see, my dear. Don't say anything to Molly, though; I don't think your mother wishes it. As for Sinclair, anyone can see he is fond of Honor."
"O yes, of course, I know that. But fancy Molly! My goodness, it seems only yesterday that she was in short frocks!" And Doris falls to musing.
It is finally decided that Molly shall go to the ball with her sisters, and now an important question comes up. What are they all to wear?
"I would rather not go at all than go badly dressed," says Doris with a suspicion of a pout. "How horrid it is to be poor! There will be all the Trevelyan family there: they are sure to be, because even Lancelot knows them quite intimately, and so also of course Sir Edward must, to some extent; and they are the greatest people about this part of the world, I suppose. I can just imagine how Lady Anne will put up her eye-glass and examine us from top to toe."
"I don't care if she does," says Molly promptly. "You can afford to be looked at, Doris, for you are a hundred times better looking than she is, and you are sure to get a lot more partners, notwithstanding her title."
But here Mrs. Merivale suddenly becomes possessed of an idea, and intimates that such is the case by holding up her hand and saying "Hush!"
She then reminds Honor of the trunks of dresses belonging to her, which, it will be remembered, there had been some little argument about keeping at the time of the sale.
"Were they kept, Honor?"
"Yes, mother. Aunt insisted that it was more than anyone would expect or even think of (I mean to leave them), so she had her own way, and they are up in the second attic now in those big boxes."
"Quite right, too," remarks Doris, referring to her aunt's having come off victorious in the matter.