‘Meanwhile,’ retorted Rosalie with some acerbity, ‘as it might be a little difficult to send for him to-day, I should be glad if the nuisance who is now occupying my premises would take himself off.’ She went into the house with a flushed face, but seemed more thoughtful than annoyed during the remainder of the day. It was, however, with unmixed vexation that she perused, on the morning following her rejection of young John Hardy, a document signed by the firm, which ran thus:— ‘To MRS. FIANDER. MADAM,—_Re_ Blue Vinney Cheeses.—We regret to inform you that we can no longer allow our premises to be used as a storehouse for these unsaleable articles. In the three months during which, in order to oblige you, we have placed our establishment at your disposal, we have only found one purchaser for a small portion of the goods in question (as you will see per statement copied from our books and enclosed herewith). Under these circumstances we are returning to you to-day as many of the cheeses as the carrier’s cart can convey, and we shall be obliged by your removing the remainder at your earliest convenience. We are, Madam, yours obediently, ‘HARDY & SON.’ The enclosed ‘statement’ testified to the purchase by one Margaret Savage of ¾ lb. Blue Vinney Cse at 5¾_d._ = 4_d._, which sum had been credited to Mrs. Fiander’s account. Rosalie gave a little gasp, and tears of vexation sprang to her eyes. ‘They just want to spite me,’ she said. ‘Of course the cheeses are hardly fit for use yet—they can’t have even tried to dispose of them; they simply pretended to sell them so as to entrap me, and now they are throwing them back on my hands before I have time to think what to do with them. That odious John Hardy! Mean-spirited wretch—it is all his doing!’ Even as she thus cogitated there was a rattling of wheels without, and the carrier’s cart drew up with a flourish at the door. ‘Please, ma’am,’ cried Susan, thrusting in her head, ‘Mr. Smith be here with ever so many cheeses as he says Hardys are sending back; and there’s sixteen-and-eightpence to pay; and he says, ma’am, will you please send the men to unload them at once?’ ‘Call Sam,’ said her mistress in a strangled voice. ‘Tell him to come at once with two or three of the others, and to take the cheeses carefully upstairs.’ ‘Why, the cheese-room be a’most full, ma’am. I doubt there’ll not be much room for them there. We was waitin’, you know, till Christmas had gone over a bit to send the last load to town.’ ‘Pile them up in the dairy, then, for the present. Well, why don’t you go?’ she cried, irritably, as the girl remained staring at her. ‘Make the men get to work at once while I find my purse.’