After their early dinner, Miss Vernon sat down to reply to her cousin's letter, and tell her of Colonel Dashwood's visit, intending to mention that Lord Effingham was in town Mrs. Storey was busy over a large work-basket filled with small garments, of various sizes; and both the children, Charlotte, and William, were playing about the room, often interrupting the progress of Kate's pen, while occasional communications from the scene of action up stairs, where the drawing-room was undergoing its weekly purification, disturbed the labours of Mrs. Storey's needle. They were all assembled in a small, plainly furnished parlour, used as a common sitting-room.
"Go and look out of the window, like good children, and let Miss Vernon write in peace," said mama, at last, and Kate continued to write for some moments uninterrupted.
"What a beautiful horse," cried Willie, after looking over the blinds for a while in silence.
"How he holds up his head," said his sister; "and the boy in the pretty little boots is look-at all the houses."
"They are coming here," shouted Willie, clapping his hands.
Mrs. Storey rose to look, and reached the window, just as the diminutive tiger knocked at the door.
"Law, my dear Miss Vernon, this is some friend of yours; what a stylish cab," exclaimed Mrs. Storey, now quite as much absorbed in contemplating the new arrival, as her children. "The boy has taken the reins, and—my gracious, if it is'nt Lord Effingham himself, and all the furniture out of the drawing-room; and my work basket! was there ever anything half so unlucky," and she rushed in helpless perplexity to hide, at least, the unsightly work-basket from view, when the door was thrown open, and the spruce maid, looking unusually dusty, hastily announced—
"A gentleman for Miss Vernon."
Kate, whose sense of the ridiculous, was too genuine to be extinguished, even by sincere vexation at so unwelcome a visit, rose to receive him with an irrepressible smile, at the contrast between Mrs. Storey's despairing fuss, and his calm, unconscious, high-bred entré.