Jenny heard of this--her one signal failure (for she had extorted alliance, if not loyalty, from Lady Sarah) with composure, almost with pleasure, although pleasure of an unusual variety. "Well, I respect Mrs. Jepps," she said, "and I wish very much that she wouldn't deprive herself of her drives in the park. I'd promise not to bow to her! Mrs. Jepps is good for me, Austin--a fat, benevolent, disapproving old skeleton at the feast--a skeleton with such fat horses!--crying out 'You did it, you did it!' That's rather useful to me, I expect. Still I should like "--she smiled mischievously--"to try her virtue a little higher--with an invitation to the laying of the foundation stone! I'm going to have that in four or five months, and Mr. Bindlecombe is angling for a prince to do it. If Mrs. Jepps holds out against the prince, she has my leave to hold out against me forever!" Still it was her instinct to conquer opponents, even when her judgment indorsed their opposition and her feelings did not resent it. "If she were a young woman, you'd get her at last," I said, "but she's very old. She'll go to heaven before you've time; I can only hope, for the sake of this household, that she won't be made a door-keeper, or we may as well give up all hope and take what chances await us elsewhere." "Let her be," said Jenny. "She only serves me as all the rest would have done, if I hadn't inherited Nick Driver's money. I've beaten them with that." "That's not the way you beat Alison," I reminded her. Her face had been hard as she referred to the power of her money; it softened at the mention of Alison's name. "It was more Margaret's victory than mine. I like best to fight with Margaret; that's a clean sword, Austin. When I'm fighting with and for her, then I'm right. But right or wrong, you wouldn't have me beaten?" "You've no right to impute any such immoral doctrine to me." "By now, I think I have," she laughed. "I wonder how soon Lady Sarah will tell Margaret all about me!" "I don't think she will--and, if she did, you'd never know it." Jenny smiled. "Yes, I should. Some day--for no apparent reason--Margaret would come and kiss me extraordinarily often." She gave a shake of her head. "I'd rather it didn't happen, though."