Lady Lushington found her first prejudices melting out of sight as she watched Annie's grace and noticed her apparent unselfishness. It was Annie's cue to be unselfish during these days, and Lady Lushington began to form really golden opinions with regard to her character. She had been very nice on the journey, taking the most uncomfortable seat and thinking of every one's comfort except her own. She had been delightful when they reached Interlaken, putting up with a very small and hot bedroom almost in the roof of the hotel. And now she began to make herself useful to Lady Lushington. This great lady had a vast amount of voluminous correspondence. She liked writing to her friends in her own illegible hand, but she hated writing business letters. Now Annie wrote an exceedingly neat and legible hand, and when she offered herself as Lady Lushington's amanuensis, making the request in the prettiest voice imaginable, and looking so eagerly desirous to help the good woman, Mabel's aunt felt her last prejudice against Annie Brooke melting out of sight. "Really, my dear," she said, "you are good-natured. It would be a comfort to dictate my letters to you, but I am stupid about business letters. You do not mind if I dictate them very slowly?" "Oh no," said Annie, "by no means; and I should so love to write them for you. You do such a great deal for poor little me that if there is any small way in which I can help you I shall be more than glad. Dear Lady Lushington, you don't know how I feel your kindness." "You are very good to say so, Miss Brooke. I have invited you here because you are Mabel's friend." "Sweet Mabel!" murmured Annie; "her very greatest friend. But now, may I help you?" "Well, bring those letters over here--that pile on the table. We may as well get through them." Annie immediately found note-paper, blotting-paper, pens and ink, also a supply of foreign stamps and post-cards. She laid the letters in a pile on Lady Lushington's lap. "Now," she said, "if you will read them aloud to me and tell me what to say, I will write as slowly as ever you like. You can lean back in your comfortable chair; we will get through them as quickly as possible." This conversation took place on the first day when Annie wrote letters to Lady Lushington's dictation. Soon the thing became a habit, and Lady Lushington secured the services of Miss Brooke for a couple of hours daily. She quite enjoyed it. It was so much less trouble, sitting lazily in her chair and getting that smart, pretty little thing to do the toilsome work for her. She felt that Annie was assuredly pretty, and much more interesting than poor Priscilla. At last, on a day when the ladies had been at Interlaken for over a week, and were meaning to move on to Zermatt, Lady Lushington opened a letter, the contents of which caused her face to flush and her eyes to blaze with annoyance. "Really," she said, "this is too bad; this is simply abominable!"