"It’s no use making a fuss, Flossie," she said wisely. "Tom didn’t mean to spill your tea; he only wanted you to look at Johnnie cribbing jam when he’d been told not to have any. And it’s the first night Ma’s at home, and Tom’s her favourite; and if you get him into trouble with Pa, she’ll give what she’s brought for you to somebody else. So you just hold your tongue, Flossie, and be a bit nice to Miss Clark, and get her to say nothing about it. It isn’t as if you were hurt--and besides, you can’t pretend you’re hurt and then go down to dessert. It’s your turn to go down to-night." Thus advised, Flossie went to Miss Clark and begged her to say nothing more about Tom’s unfortunate accident. "Tom says he didn’t mean to, Miss Clark, and Ma’s tired, I dare say; so you won’t say anything about it, will you?" "I think I ought to say something about it, Flossie," said Miss Clark severely, though in her heart she was as glad to get off telling as even Tom himself could be. "No, Miss Clark, I don’t think you ought. Ma always gets a headache after a long journey, and if Pa’s put out with Tom, and perhaps whips him, Ma ’ll go to bed and cry all night. And it wasn’t as if Tom meant to spill the tea over me--it was quite an accident. He was only jogging me to look at Johnnie." With much apparent reluctance, Miss Clark at last consented to say no more about it; and so occupied was she in making Flossie feel how great a concession it was for her to do so, that she forgot to ask what Johnnie had happened to be doing to attract Tom’s attention. So Johnnie escaped scot free also, and Flossie and Tom went off to prepare for going down to dessert, which the young Stubbses did in strict turn, two at a time. As soon as the table was cleared, Miss Clark got out a little work-box and began a delicate piece of embroidery. Sarah kept close to May, whom at present she liked best of any of the young people and May sat down with a piece of fancy work also, of which she did very little. "Miss Clark," she began, after she had done a few stitches, "isn’t it jolly without Tom?" "Very," said Miss Clark, with a great sigh of relief. "I don’t think Tom meant to be disagreeable," said May, turning Miss Clark’s silks over with careless fingers; "but he’s a boy, and boys are very tiresome animals, Miss Clark." "Yes," Miss Clark replied. "How many times have you been engaged?" and May leant her elbows upon the table and regarded the governess with interested eyes. [Illustration: "How many times have you been engaged?"] "Twice," answered Miss Clark, in a low voice. "And he was nice?" May inquired, with vivid interest. "I thought them both nice at the time," Miss Clark returned, with a sigh and a smile. "But--oh, here is Flossie ready to go down. Flossie, my dear, how quick you have been!" "But I’m quite tidy, Miss Clark," Flossie replied. "I wish Tom would be quick. I say, Sarah, don’t you wish you were going down, too?"