Three or four servants were waiting in the hall. At first sight Mrs Chancellor imagined them to be all strangers to her, but in another moment, to her delight, she recognised in the face of a young girl standing modestly somewhat in the rear of the others, the familiar features of Barbara's niece. Mrs Eyrecourt had not succeeded in her design of substituting a more experienced lady's maid in the place of Eugenia's protegee. Something had been said about it, but in the pressure of more important arrangements Captain Chancellor had allowed the matter to stand over for the present, and it had been arranged that Rachel should be sent to Halswood the day before her mistress's arrival, but in the absorption of her own thoughts Eugenia had for the time forgotten this, and the pleasure of the surprise was great. "Oh, Rachel!" she exclaimed with effusion, darting forward and shaking hands eagerly with the young girl--"I am so pleased to see you. Did you come yesterday, and how did you leave them all? How is papa? And Miss Sydney--Mrs Thurston, I mean?" "They are both very well, indeed, ma'am," said the girl, flushing with pleasure at the friendly greeting--her spirits had been somewhat depressed since her arrival; the great, empty house, the few servants, all middle-aged or old, had seemed strange and cold to Barbara's niece; "I went to see Mrs Thurston the last thing the night before I left-- there is a letter waiting for you from her upstairs that she told me to put in your room--and Mr Laurence, ma'am, he wished me to--" "Eugenia," said Captain Chancellor's voice from behind his wife, "Eugenia, if you are not _very_ particularly occupied, will you spare me a moment?" She had vexed him again, but in the softening influence of the home news, the sound of the dear home names, Eugenia's better self was again uppermost. There was no resentment or haughtiness in her tone or manner as she turned quickly towards her husband. "Oh, I am so sorry," she exclaimed; "I was so pleased to see Rachel and hear about them all at home, that!" But she said no more, for glancing at Beauchamp, she saw that her words had deepened rather than lightened the look of annoyance on his face. "Mrs Grier," he said, addressing an elderly person in black silk, tall, thin, stiff, and yet depressed-looking, who came forward as she heard her name. "Eugenia, this is Mrs Grier. Mrs Grier has been at Halswood for I don't know how many years. How many is it?" turning to the housekeeper with the pleasant smile that so lighted up his somewhat impassive face. "Thirty-three, sir," replied Mrs Grier, thawing a little, "and more changes in the three than in all the thirty." "Yes, indeed," said Eugenia, kindly, shaking hands with the melancholy housekeeper. "You must have had a great deal to go through lately."