"Selina," said the mother, pettishly, "I really thought you'd help me when I've so much to trouble and vex me--and not make any fresh difficulties. How can I help it?--If your father says the people are to come, I can't say I won't let them in. I hope you won't make f.a.n.n.y think I'm doing it from disrespect to her. I'm sure I wouldn't have a soul here for a twelvemonth, on my own account."

"I'm sure Miss Wyndham won't think any such thing, my lady," said Griffiths; "will she, Lady Selina?--Indeed, I don't think she'll matter it one pin."

"Indeed, Selina, I don't think she will," said the countess; and then she half whispered to her daughter. "Poor f.a.n.n.y! it's not about her brother she's grieving; it's that horrid man, Ballindine. She sent him away, and now she wants to have him back. I really think a little company will be the best thing to bring her to herself again." There was a little degree of humbug in this whisper, for her ladyship meant her daughter to understand that she wouldn't speak aloud about f.a.n.n.y's love-affair before Griffiths; and yet she had spent many a half hour talking to her factotum on that very subject. Indeed, what subject was there of any interest to Lady Cashel on which she did not talk to Griffiths!

"Well, mamma," said Lady Selina, dutifully, "I'll not say another word about it; only let me know what you want me to do, and I'll do it. Who is it you mean to ask?"

"Why, first of all, there's the Fitzgeralds: your father thinks that Lord and Lady George would come for a week or so, and you know the girls have been long talking of coming to Grey Abbey--these two years I believe, and more."

"The girls will come, I dare say, mamma; though I don't exactly think they're the sort of people who will amuse Adolphus; but I don't think Lord George or Lady George will sleep away from home. We can ask them, however; Mountains is only five miles from here, and I'm sure they'll go back after dinner."

"Well, my dear, if they will, they must, and I can't help it; only I must say it'll be very ill-natured of them. I'm sure it's a long time since they were asked to stay here."

"As you say, mamma, at any rate we can ask them. And who comes next?"

"Why your father has put down the Swinburn people next; though I'm sure I don't know how they are to come so far."

"Why, mamma, the colonel is a martyr to the gout!"

"Yes, my lady," said Griffiths, "and Mrs. Ellison is worse again, with rheumatics. There would be nothing to do, the whole time, but nurse the two of them."

"Never mind, Griffiths; you'll not have to nurse them, so you needn't be so ill-natured."

"Me, ill-natured, my lady? I'm sure I begs pardon, but I didn't mean nothing ill-natured; besides, Mrs. Ellison was always a very nice lady to me, and I'm sure I'd be happy to nurse her, if she wanted it; only that, as in duty bound, I've your ladyship to look to first, and so couldn't spare time very well for nursing any one."

"Of course you couldn't, Griffiths; but, Selina, at any rate you must ask the Ellisons: your papa thinks a great deal about the colonel--he has so much influence in the county, and Adolphus will very likely stand, now. Your papa and the colonel were members together for the county more than forty years since."

"Well, mamma, I'll write Mrs. Ellison. Shall I say for a week or ten days?"

"Say for ten days or a fortnight, and then perhaps they'll stay a week. Then there's the Bishop of Maryborough, and Mrs. Moore. I'm sure Adolphus will be glad to meet the bishop, for it was he that christened him."

"Very well, mamma, I'll write to Mrs. Moore. I suppose the bishop is in Dublin at present?"

"Yes, my dear, I believe so. There can't be anything to prevent their coming."

"Only that he's the managing man on the Education Board, and he's giving up his time very much to that at present. I dare say he'll come, but he won't stay long."

"Well, Selina, if he won't, I can't help it; and I'm sure, now I think about the cook, I don't see how we're to expect anybody to stay. What am I to do, Griffiths, about that horrid woman?"

"I'll tell you what I was thinking, my lady; only I don't know whether your ladyship would like it, either, and if you didn't you could easily get rid of him when all these people are gone."

"Get rid of who?"

"I was going to say, my lady--if your ladyship would consent to have a man cook for a time, just to try."

"Then I never will, Griffiths: there'd be no peace in the house with him!"

"Well, your ladyship knows best, in course; only if you thought well of trying it, of course you needn't keep the man; and I know there's Murray in Dublin, that was cook so many years to old Lord Galway. I know he's to be heard of at the hotel in Grafton Street."

"I can't bear the thoughts of a man cook, Griffiths: I'd sooner have three women cooks, and I'm sure one's enough to plague anybody."

"But none's worse, my lady," said Griffiths.

"You needn't tell me that. I wonder, Selina, if I were to write to my sister, whether she could send me over anything that would answer?"

"What, from London, my lady?" answered Griffiths--"You'd find a London woman cook sent over in that way twice worse than any man: she'd be all airs and graces. If your ladyship thought well of thinking about Murray, Richards would do very well under him: she's a decent poor creature, poor woman--only she certainly is not a cook that'd suit for such a house as this; and it was only impudence her thinking to attempt it."

"But, mamma," said Lady Selina, "do let me know to whom I am to write, and then you and Griffiths can settle about the cook afterwards; the time is so very short that I ought not to lose a post."

The poor countess threw herself back in her easy chair, the picture of despair. Oh, how much preferable were rolls of worsted and yards of netting, to the toils and turmoil of preparing for, and entertaining company! She was already nearly overcome by the former: she didn't dare to look forward to the miseries of the latter. She already began to feel the ill effects of her son's reformation, and to wish that it had been postponed just for a month or two, till she was a little more settled.

"Well, mamma," said Lady Selina, as undisturbed and calm as ever, and as resolved to do her duty without flinching, "shall we go on?"

The countess groaned and sighed--"There's the list there, Selina, which your father put down in pencil. You know the people as well as I do: just ask them all--"

"But, mamma, I'm not to ask them all to stay here:--I suppose some are only to come to dinner?--the O'Joscelyns, and the Parchments?"

"Ask the O'Joscelyns for Wednesday and Thursday: the girls might as well stay and sleep here. But what's the good of writing to them?--can't you drive over to the Parsonage and settle it all there?--you do nothing but make difficulties, Selina, and my head's racking."

Lady Selina sate silent for a short time, conning the list, and endeavouring to see her way through the labyrinth of difficulties which was before her, without further trouble to her mother; while the countess leaned back, with her eyes closed, and her hands placed on the arms of her chair, as though she were endeavouring to get some repose, after the labour she had gone through. Her daughter, however, again disturbed her.

"Mamma," she said, trying by the solemnity of her tone to impress her mother with the absolute necessity she was under of again appealing to her upon the subject, "what _are_ we to do about young men?"

"About young men, my dear?"

"Yes, mamma: there'll be a house-full of young ladies--there's the Fitzgeralds--and Lady Louisa Pratt--and Miss Ellison--and the three O'Joscelyns--and not a single young man, except Mr O'Joscelyn's curate!"

"Well, my dear, I'm sure Mr. Hill's a very nice young man."

"So he is, mamma; a very good young man; but he won't do to amuse such a quant.i.ty of girls. If there were only one or two he'd do very well; besides, I'm sure Adolphus won't like it."

"Why; won't he talk to the young ladies?--I'm sure he was always fond of ladies' society."

"I tell you, mamma, it won't do. There'll be the bishop and two other clergymen, and old Colonel Ellison, who has always got the gout, and Lord George, if he comes--and I'm sure he won't. If you want to make a pleasant party for Adolphus, you must get some young men; besides, you can't ask all those girls, and have n.o.body to dance with them or talk to them."

"I'm sure, my dear, I don't know what you're to do. I don't know any young men except Mr. Hill; and there's that young Mr. Grundy, who lives in Dublin. I promised his aunt to be civil to him: can't you ask him down?"

"He was here before, mamma, and I don't think he liked it. I'm sure we didn't. He didn't speak a word the whole day he was here. He's not at all the person to suit Adolphus."

"Then, my dear, you _must_ go to your papa, and ask him: it's quite clear I can't make young men. I remember, years ago, there always used to be too many of them, and I don't know where they're all gone to. At any rate, when they do come, there'll be nothing for them to eat," and Lady Cashel again fell back upon her deficiencies in the kitchen establishment.

Lady Selina saw that nothing more could be obtained from her mother, no further intelligence as regarded the embryo party. The whole burden was to lie on her shoulders, and very heavy she felt it. As far as concerned herself, she had no particular wish for one kind of guest more than another: it was not for herself that she wanted young men; she knew that at any rate there were none within reach whom she could condescend to notice save as her father's guests; there could be no one there whose presence could be to her of any interest: the gouty colonel, and the worthy bishop, would be as agreeable to her as any other men that would now be likely to visit Grey Abbey. But Lady Selina felt a real desire that others in the house might be happy while there.

She was no flirt herself, nor had she ever been; it was not in her nature to be so. But though she herself might be contented to twaddle with old men, she knew that other girls would not. Yet it was not that she herself had no inward wish for that admiration which is desired by nearly every woman, or that she thought a married state was an unenviable one. No; she could have loved and loved truly, and could have devoted herself most scrupulously to the duties of a wife; but she had vainly and foolishly built up for herself a pedestal, and there she had placed herself; nor would she come down to stand on common earth, though Apollo had enticed her, unless he came with the coronet of a peer upon his brow.

She left her mother's boudoir, went down into the drawing-room, and there she wrote her notes of invitation, and her orders to the tradesmen; and then she went to her father, and consulted him on the difficult subject of young men. She suggested the Newbridge Barracks, where the dragoons were; and the Curragh, where perhaps some stray denizen of pleasure might be found, neither too bad for Grey Abbey, nor too good to be acceptable to Lord Kilcullen; and at last it was decided that a certain Captain c.o.kely, and Mat Tierney, should be asked. They were both acquaintances of Adolphus; and though Mat was not a young man, he was not very old, and was usually very gay.

So that matter was settled, and the invitations were sent off. The countess overcame her difficulty by consenting that Murray the man cook should be hired for a given time, with the distinct understanding that he was to take himself off with the rest of the guests, and so great was her ladyship's sense of the importance of the negotiation, that she absolutely despatched Griffiths to Dublin to arrange it, though thereby she was left two whole days in solitary misery at Grey Abbey; and had to go to bed, and get up, she really hardly knew how, with such a.s.sistance as Lady Selina's maid could give her.