Laura Treherne flushed, and she inclined her head gratefully. Lady Bell was relieved; her last maid used to overwhelm her with thanks. "And now I will go down. By the way, will you please tell Simcox--that's the butler--that the gentlemen will want Lafitte, at least, Mr. Newcombe will. I don't know what Mr. Stephen Davenant drinks. What's the matter?" she broke off to inquire, for she heard Laura stumble and fall against the wardrobe. There was a moment's pause; then, calmly enough, Laura said: "My foot caught in your ladyship's dress, I think." "Have you hurt yourself?" asked Lady Bell, kindly. "You have gone quite pale! Here, take some of this sal-volatile." But Laura declined, respectfully. It was a mere nothing, and she would be more careful of alarming her ladyship for the future. Lady Bell looked at her curiously. The quiet, self-contained manner, so free from nervousness or embarrassment, interested her. She stopped her as Laura was leaving the room. "We haven't fixed upon a name for you yet," she said. "No, my lady; any name will do." "It is a pity to change yours--it is a pretty one." "Will Mary Burns do, my lady? It was my mother's name." "Very well," said Lady Bell; "I will tell Mrs. Fellowes that you will be known by that." "That girl has a history, I know," she thought, as she went downstairs. Punctual almost to the minute, Mrs. Davenant's brougham arrived. The evenings had drawn in, and a lamp was burning in the hall; and a small fire made the dining-room comfortable. Lady Bell welcomed Una most affectionately. "Now we will have a really enjoyable evening," she said. "I hate dinner parties, and if I had my way, would never give nor go to another one. If it were only a little colder, we'd sit round the fire and bake chestnuts. Have you ever done that, Wild Bird?" "Often," said Una, with a quiet smile, and something like a sigh, as she thought of the long winter evenings in the cot. How long ago they seemed, almost unreal, as if they had never happened. "Oh, Una is very accomplished," said Jack; "I believe she could make coffee if she tried." Very snug and comfortable the dining-room looked. Lady Bell had dispensed with one of the footmen, and had evidently determined to make the meal as homely and unceremonious as possible. Never, perhaps, had the butler seen a merrier party. Even Stephen was genial and humorous; indeed he seemed to exert himself in an extraordinary fashion. Lady Bell had given him Una to take in, and he was most attentive and entertaining--so much that Jack, who was sitting opposite, and next to Lady Bell, felt amused and interested at the change which seemed to have come over him.