'And she has on her best blue, made out of mother's French
farthingale,' cried the discreet Annora.
'Do you know, Dolly, I've orders to box your ears, and send you
in?' added Berenger, as he lifted his half-sister from her perilous
position, speaking, as he did so, without a shade of foreign
accent, though with much more rapid utterance than was usual in
England. She clung to him without much alarm, and retaliated by an
endeavour to box his ears, while Philip, slowly making his way back
to the mainland, exclaimed, 'Ah there's no chance now! Here comes
demure Mistress Lucy, and she is the worst mar-sport of all.'
A gentle girl of seventeen was drawing near, her fair delicately-
tinted complexion suiting well with her pale golden hair. It was a
sweet face, and was well set off by the sky-blue of the
farthingale, which, with her white lace coif and white ruff, gave
her something the air of a speedwell flower, more especially as her
expression seemed to have caught much of Cecily's air of self-
restrained contentment. She held a basketful of the orange pistils
of crocuses, and at once seeing that some riot had taken place, she
said to the eldest little girl, 'Ah, Nan, you had been safer
gathering saffron with me.'
'Nay, brother Berry came and made all well,' said Annora; 'and he
had been shut up so long in the library that he must have been very
glad to get out.'
'And what came of it?' cried Philip. 'Are you to go and get
yourself unmarried?' 'Unmarried!' burst out the sisters Annora and Elizabeth.
'What, laughed Philip, 'you knew not that this is an ancient
husband, married years before your father and mother?'
'But, why? said Elizabeth, rather inclined to cry. 'What has poor
Lucy done that you should get yourself unmarried from her?'
There was a laugh from both brothers; but Berenger, seeing Lucy's
blushes, restrained himself, and said. 'Mine was not such good
luck, Bess, but they gave me a little French wife, younger than
Dolly, and saucier still; and as she seems to wish to be quit of
me, why, I shall be rid of her.'
'See there, Dolly,' said Philip, in a warning voice, 'that is the
way you'll be served if you do not mend your ways.'
'But I thought,' said Annora gravely, 'that people were married
once for all, and it could not be undone.'
'So said Aunt Cecily, but my Lord was proving to her out of all law
that a contract between such a couple of babes went for nought,'
said Berenger.