Madge meantime, while this short cross-examination had been going on, strolled a little behind the other two, with a faint smile of amusement in her eyes. She had inherited all her mother's beauty, and dark violet eyes glowed beneath her black lashes. Her nose was a little tip-tilted, as if raised in curiosity about things in general, but her mouth somewhat contradicted that, for it drooped a little at the corners, as if to imply that her curiosity when satisfied proved rather disappointing. Curiosity and a shade of contempt, indeed, were the emotions most strongly in evidence on her face, and the observer--allowing that features may represent the character of their owner rather than that of her ancestry--would perhaps conclude that her habitual view of the world was of the kind that tends to laugh at rather than with that admirable comedy. Otherwise her face was strangely sexless; it was, indeed, more the face of a boy than of a girl. Even among tall women she was tall, and by her side Mrs. Home looked more than ever like a figure of Dresden china. Lady Ellington after her sympathetic remark about flowers, turned to her daughter. "Well situated, is it not, Madge?" she said. "And the river is below there. You will be all day on it, I expect, if Mr. Home is kind enough to take you. And who else is here, Mrs. Home?" "Ah, there is no party at all, I am afraid," said she. "Philip said that acquaintances mix so badly with friends. Only Mr. Dundas and Mr. Merivale." Lady Ellington thought this over for a moment, and the conclusion apparently was most satisfactory. "That is charming of him!" she said. "It is always a compliment to be asked to a small party; whereas, if you have a houseful it doesn't matter who is there. Dear me, those roses should be cut much further back, if they are to do any good. But it is quite true; if one asks friends and acquaintances together, the friends always wonder why the acquaintances have been asked, and the acquaintances are disgusted that nobody takes any notice of them. And I particularly want your son's advice on some shares I have lately purchased. Mr. Dundas, too--I am so glad to meet him. They say his portraits are going up in price so. I wonder if he could be induced--just a little sketch---- Ah, there is Mr. Home coming up from the river. I wonder why he wears a dark coat on so hot a day?" A little curiosity perhaps lingered in Madge's face when she met Philip, and certainly the contempt all vanished. She had a great respect and liking for him, and her whole expression brightened when she saw him. Then after greetings they strolled on, the two elder ladies in front. "Mother has a great many questions to ask you," she said to him in a gentle, slow, but very audible voice. "She wants to know how many gardeners you have, why you don't cut your roses back and something about South African mines."