"Not keep a carriage!" exclaimed Miss Cunningham; "then how do you manage to get from one place to another?"
"Really," interrupted Dora, "I do not think you should cross-question any one in that way. Of course, there are carriages to be had, even if people do not choose to keep them."
"There are coaches always passing near us," said Mary; "and so it is very convenient."
"Coaches!—you mean stage coaches, I suppose," said Miss Cunningham.
"Yes," replied Mary; "one of them goes to Sandham, where our school is; so there is no difficulty about my travelling."
"That is the strangest thing of all," said Miss Cunningham. "Do you mean really that your papa and mamma allow you to travel about the country in a stage coach?"
The tone in which this was said sounded even more disagreeable than the words; and Julia Stanley instantly took offence. "And why not!" she exclaimed; "why should not people ride in stage coaches if they like it?"
"Of course, if they like it," said Margaret, who was always willing to side with her friend; "but liking it is a very different thing from being obliged to do it."
"So it may be," replied Julia; "but almost every one does it now."
"I never do," said Miss Cunningham, pointedly.