I was very glad that he had decided to fix my private allowance at eighty pounds, for it raised his feelings of justice in my estimation. To tell truth, since I had been in St. Pucelle, I had more than once thought that a hundred a year was too much money to pay for my board and lodging, for my bedroom possessed the barest necessaries, and we—that is, I and the girls—lived with the greatest frugality. The mystery which hung about the meals I had not yet fathomed, although I had begun sadly to suspect the cause of it. On some days the dinners provided continued to be luxurious in the extreme, though, as I have said before, I refused to partake of them; on others, we were all alike compelled to dine upon the most meagre fare. It was evident, therefore, that the means of provisioning the household were not always forthcoming, though that was no reason that I should pay for more than I consumed. I did not, therefore, consider that I laid myself under any special obligation to my guardian in consenting to his proposal, although I admired him for making it. Eighty pounds a year—twenty pounds every quarter—would be ample, not only to provide me with suitable clothing, but to leave a margin wherewith to indulge myself by making presents to my friends; and with the remainder of my income, Mr. Lovett would be fully indemnified for any extra expense I might prove in the household. I returned to Tessie therefore quite satisfied with the result of my bravery. At the same time I wished that my guardian had given me a few francs in hand. But I felt certain he had only postponed it until he returned from Rille. Under cover of this assurance, I talked openly to Tessie, as we walked together up the hill, of the interview that had taken place between her father and myself, and of the generous offer he had made me. I was anxious to have her advice as to what would be the most suitable present I could purchase for Ange on her forthcoming birthday, for, in common with all her friends, I had learned to love the girl dearly, and was quite sure that nothing was to be found among the paltry little shops in St. Pucelle good enough for her acceptance. ‘I should like to give her something _really_ nice, Tessie; something that she wants very much. Do you know of anything? Never mind the price! I shall have much more money than I shall want for myself, and my greatest pleasure is in giving presents to those I care for. If you will decide what it shall be, I will ask Mrs. Carolus or Miss Markham to get it in Rille. I know they are going over there next week expressly to shop; and they will choose it probably quite as well as I should do myself.’ But Tessie, considering her love for her sister, was singularly indifferent on the subject. She coloured when I proposed it, as I thought with pleasure, but she gave me no help whatever.