'When you come to Kingscourt,' said Madge, with a curious kind of laugh. Nan was silent, and turned away; she never seemed to wish to speak of Kingscourt or her going there. Frank King's stay in London was prolonged for some reason or other; at length he announced his intention of returning to Brighton on a particular Thursday. On the Tuesday night Nan and Madge arranged that they would get fresh flowers the next day for the decoration of the rooms. 'And this is what I will do for you, Madge, as it is a special occasion,' remarked Miss Anne, with grave patronage. 'If you will get up early tomorrow, I will take you to a place, not more than four miles off, where you will find any quantity of hart's-tongue fern. It is a deep ditch, I suppose a quarter of a mile long, and the banks are covered. Of course I don't want any one to know, for it is so near Brighton it would be harried for the shops; but I will show you the place, as you will soon be going away now; and we can take a basket.' 'But how did you find it out, Nan?' 'Some one showed it to me.' 'The singing-woman, I suppose?' 'Yes. Think of that. I believe she could get twopence a root; and she might fill a cart there. But she won't touch one.' 'No,' said Edith, with a superior smile. 'She leaves that for young ladies who could very well afford to go to a florist's.' 'What I shall take won't hurt,' said Nan, meekly. So, next morning, Nan got up about eight; dressed, and was ready to start. That is to say, she never arranged her programme for the day with the slightest respect to meals. So long as she could get an apple and a piece of bread to put in her pocket she felt provided against everything. However, she thought she would go along to Madge's room, and see if that young lady had ideas about breakfast. Madge's room was empty; and Nan thought it strange she should have gone downstairs without knocking at her door in passing. But when Nan also went below she found that Madge had left the house before any one was up. She could not understand it at all. Mr. Tom came down. 'Oh,' said he, indifferently, 'she wants to be mighty clever and find out those ferns for herself.' 'But I did not tell her where they were. I only said they were on the road to ----' said Nan, naming the place: the writer has reasons of his own for not being more explicit. 'All the cleverer if she can find out. The cheek of the young party is pyramidal,' said Mr. Tom, as he rang for breakfast. But at lunch, also, Madge had not turned up. 'It is very extraordinary,' said Lady Beresford, though she was too languid to be deeply concerned.