At Lady Dudgeon's elbow stood Olive Deane, with her black dress, her snowy collar and cuffs, her colourless face, her black, lustreless hair, and her fathomless eyes--in every point precisely the same as at the time when first we met her. Her ladyship had just been issuing invitations for a grand ball to be given at Stammars, during the ensuing Easter recess, to Sir Thomas's chief supporters at the recent election. "There, thank goodness, that finishes the last batch of twenty!" said her ladyship, as she put down her pen with an air of relief. "I don't think that I have forgotten any one, or, for the matter of that, invited any one that we could have afforded to ignore. There are eighty of them altogether, leaving out of question the tribe of wives and daughters--quite as many as we can reasonably accommodate." Then, turning to Olive, she added, "Will you kindly see that the whole of the invitations are sent off by this afternoon's post?" "I will take care to post them myself. Has your ladyship any further commands?" "None whatever at present, thank you." Olive bowed, and left the room. "On such an occasion as the present one Miss Deane is really invaluable," said Lady Dudgeon to Eleanor. "If you would only let me help you in these little matters, instead of Miss Deane, you would please me more than I can tell YOU." "My dear child, I could not think of such a thing," said her ladyship, with dignity. "I did not bring you to London to make a drudge of you; I brought you here that you might enjoy yourself." "I should enjoy myself far better if I had a little more to do sometimes. I might as well be a china figure under a glass shade in the drawing-room, for any use I seem to be in the world." "My dear, all pretty objects have their uses in the world, if it be only to please the eye and educate the taste of others. Be satisfied at present with trying to look as pretty as you can." "That seems to me a very empty sort of life indeed." "Ah, you young people never know what you would be at. You, for instance, my dear, have youth, good looks, and money, and yet you grumble! But about this ball. I mean it to be a great success. It will make Sir Thomas even more popular in the borough than he is now, and no one can stigmatize it as being either bribery or corruption. There is some talk of a general election next autumn, so that we must keep our supporters well in hand." "You are quite a tactician," laughed Eleanor. "In these days, my dear, it doesn't do to let one's wits grow rusty. You will derive great amusement at the ball from a study of the toilettes of some of the worthy tradespeople's wives and daughters who will honour us with their company. The originality of idea displayed by some of them is truly astounding. And the waistcoats of the gentlemen are hardly less wonderful." At this moment a footman brought a letter for her ladyship.