Mademoiselle was also reading Penelope from quite a new point of view. She had already gauged to a great extent her pupil's character, and what she saw to-day gave her pleasure rather than otherwise. She talked to her, however, very little, and put herself completely into the shade. When the meal was over, Brenda spoke to her sister. "I want you to stay for the night," she said. "We can send a telegram to the Castle to say that I have kept you. I want you to stay a bit, Pen; you will, won't you?" "I am afraid I can't, for Honora wants me to go home." "You call Castle Beverley home?" "Just for the present, and it is nice to feel that I can speak of it as such." The other ladies lingered round for a minute or so, but having no excuse to listen to Brenda and Penelope, they retired, leaving the two sisters and the three Misses Amberley alone. "Children, you would like Pen to stay, wouldn't you?" "Oh, yes, of course," said Fanchon. "And you three could just for one night sleep all together." "It wouldn't be at all comfortable," said Nina, "but I suppose we could." "You would have to sleep at the foot, Nina," said Fanchon. "All right," said Nina, "I'd like that best, for I could kick you both if you were troublesome." "I certainly can't stay," remarked Penelope. "I promised to come to you for part of a day, Brenda, and surely we can say all we want to say between now and nightfall." "You are horribly disobliging," said Brenda. "The carriage is coming for me too," exclaimed Penelope; "I really must go back." "You could send a note quite well, that is, if you were really nice." The five girls had now gone upstairs, Mademoiselle had retired to her stifling attic. Mademoiselle was hiding her time. After a little further conversation Brenda perceived that it was quite useless to expect Penelope to remain for the night in the boarding-house, and accordingly, with extreme sulkiness, gave up her plan of impressing Harry with the elegant demeanour of her own sister that night. The next best thing, however, was to take Penelope for a walk. This she proceeded to do. The girls were told they might amuse themselves, which they did by locking themselves into their bedroom and examining the two brooches and the false bangle until they were fairly weary of the subject. Each girl in turn tried on the brooches, and each girl slipped the bangle on her wrist to shoot it off the next moment in horror and let it lie on the floor. "Ugly, coarse, common thing!" said Fanchon. "Oh! when I remember my beauty, you can't even imagine, girls, what it was like." "But it seems so ridiculous that Brenda could have given it to you," said Nina. "Brenda might rise to a shilling thing, but as to the bangle you describe--"