THE END Miss Mignon It was a week before Christmas. There were no visitors at Ferrers Court, although a couple of days later the great hall would be filled to overflowing with a happy, light-hearted set of people, all bent, as they always were at Ferrers Court, on enjoying themselves to the uttermost. The weather was cold and cheerless, though not cold enough to stop the hunting, and Captain Ferrers had been absent all day, and might now come home at any moment. Mrs. Ferrers was, in fact, rather putting on the time, hoping he might return before Browne brought in the tea. The children meantime were clamouring loudly for a story. "A story?" said Mrs. Ferrers doubtfully; she never thought herself very good at story-telling, and often wondered that the children seemed to like hearing her so much. "Yes, a story," cried three or four fresh young voices in a breath. "I’m afraid I’ve told you _all_ my stories," Mrs. Ferrers said apologetically. "And I have told them all so many times." "Tell us about Mignon," cried Maud, for Mignon, their half-sister, was still their favourite heroine. Mrs. Ferrers pondered for a moment. "I don’t believe," she remarked, "that I have ever told you about Mignon being lost." "Mignon--lost!" cried Maud. "Oh! never." "Lost!" echoed Pearl. "And where was she lost, Mother?" "Tell us," cried Bertie. "Yes; do tell us," echoed Cecil. "Tell us," cried Madge and Baby in the same breath. So Mrs. Ferrers gathered her thoughts together and began. "It was when Pearl was about four months old"--at which Pearl drew herself up and looked important, as if she, too, had had a share in the adventure--"we went to London for the season. That was in April. We had not the house we have now, for that was let for a term, so your father took a house near the top of Queen’s Gate." "That’s where the memorial is," said Pearl. "I know." "Yes; we know," echoed Maud. "Well, Humphie, who had attended Mignon ever since she was a year old, had, of course, the entire care of Pearl, and I engaged a very nice French maid--half-maid, half-nurse--for Mignon. She was under Humphie, of course, but she had to take Mignon out--not very often, for she was accustomed to going out a great deal with your father--and to dress her, and so on. "Well, one day your father and I were going to a large afternoon party where we couldn’t very well take Mignon. We stayed rather late, rushed back and dressed and went to a dinner-party, not really having time to see the children at all. We had a party or two later on, but to them we never went, for just as we ladies were going through the hall on our way up into the drawing-room, I caught sight of Browne at the door of the inner hall. I turned aside at once. "’Is anything the matter, Browne?’ I asked. Indeed, I saw by his white face that something dreadful had happened. [Illustration: "’Is anything the matter, Brown?’" (Page 141)]