"Why, the St Justs," answered the girl. "Miss Angela's folks. You must have heard of Miss Angela St Just." "Yes," said Nesta, then she added petulantly--"They seem to be everywhere." "Oh, no, they ain't," said Mary Hogg. "Sir Edward and his daughter, they've had what you call reverses, but the rest of the family is rich, very rich. They owns Hurst Castle, and my place. I belong to 'em, so to speak. I'm at Castle Walworth. I'm under kitchenmaid. They keep a power of servants; you can scarce count 'em on your fingers." Nesta was interested. "Have you very hard work to do?" she asked. "Oh, no; nothing to speak of, and I gets rare good living, and no end of pickings, too, which I takes to my mother, whenever I has time to go and see her. She lives in a bit of a cottage just outside of the village. She's very poor, indeed, is mother. She's a widdy. Father died five years ago, and left her with me and two boys. The boys is still at school. The St Just family is very good to mother, and it was through Miss Angela asking, that I got a place as kitchenmaid at the Castle. I'm proud of my place." "You must be," said Nesta. "It's real respectable," said the girl. "You can't be like ordinary servants; you mustn't consider yourself an ordinary servant there. Just think of me--a bit of a girl like me--I ain't seventeen yet--having to wear a little tight bonnet with strings fastened under my chin, and a regular livery. Grey, it is, with red pipings. That's the livery the servants at Castle Walworth wear. The bonnets are black, with a bit of red just bordering them inside. We look very nice when we go to church, all in our livery. But when I goes to see mother, then I can wear just what I like, and when I'm with my aunt--oh, my word, I did have a good time at Scarborough--but here we be, Miss, here we be. I'll wish you good-day, Miss." The train stopped and the two girls alighted on the platform. Nesta walked hurriedly by her companion's side. The girl with the brown paper parcel did not seem to want anything more to do with her. The tickets were taken by the ticket collector, and then they found themselves side by side in a narrow road, a road branching off to right and left. It was a winding road, quite pretty and very countrified indeed. If there was a village, there seemed to be no trace of one. "Where's the village?" asked Nesta, doing her best to detain the sole person in all the world whom she thought she had a right to speak to. "Why, there--down in the valley, nestling among all them trees," said Mary Hogg. "This is my way," she added, "straight up this steep hill, and there's the Castle, and the flag is flying; that shows the family are at home. They'll be waiting for me. If Mrs Gaskell, that's our housekeeper, finds I'm five minutes late, why she'll blow my nose off." "How awful!" said Nesta.