CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
|---|---|---|
| I. | A Girl in a Thousand | [1] |
| II. | “Tell me all the News” | [18] |
| III. | “Other People has Nieces too” | [27] |
| IV. | The Three Young Maids of Hoyle | [44] |
| V. | An Indian Letter | [58] |
| VI. | “Rowena”—Full Life Size | [71] |
| VII. | Fairy relents | [91] |
| VIII. | Daniel Pollitt, Esq., and Family | [103] |
| IX. | Permission to Travel | [118] |
| X. | Major Byng’s Suggestion | [144] |
| XI. | A Reserved Lady | [158] |
| XII. | Two Good Samaritans | [176] |
| XIII. | Toby Joy | [191] |
| XIV. | Stealing a March | [208] |
| XV. | A Proud Moment | [221] |
| XVI. | A Message from Miss Paske | [242] |
MR. JERVIS.
CHAPTER I.
A GIRL IN A THOUSAND.
“I suppose I must write, and say she may come. Personally, I shall be delighted to have her; but I’m afraid Granby will think a girl in the house rather a bore. Three is such an awkward number in India!”
“And sometimes in other places,” added a lady who sat on the fender-stool, blowing a great wood fire, with a preposterously small pair of bellows.
“You know what I mean, Milly,” retorted her companion, a handsome, indolent-looking woman, who reclined in an easy-chair, with an open letter in her lap. “Houses out here are only built for two, as a rule—especially in cantonments. A victoria or pony-cart holds but two, and two is a much more manageable number for dinners and tiffins. Still, I shall be glad to have a girl to chaperon; it will give me an object in life, and more interest in going out.”
“Could you take more?” asked the lady with the bellows, casting a sly smile over her shoulder.
“To be sure I could, you disagreeable little creature! When a woman is no longer quite young, and her days of romance are at an end, the hopes and prospects of a pretty companion give her another chance in the matrimonial lucky-bag—a chance at second-hand, but still sufficiently exciting. Alas! life after a certain age is like a bottle of flat soda-water.”