Emily was surprised, when they reached the little shrubbery-gate, to find the morning had passed so quickly.
The next day brought her the following note from Lady Mandeville:—
"In begging you, my dear Miss Arundel, to come to-day and dine with Lord Mandeville and myself, I only hold out, as your inducement, that a good action is its own reward. Hospitality is the virtue of the country;—do give me an opportunity of practising it. To be the third in a matrimonial tête-à-tête is, I confess, rather an alarming prospect; but we promise not to quarrel, and to make a great deal of yourself.
"So do oblige yours truly,
"Ellen Mandeville."
Lady Mandeville, even in London, where only to remember any body is an effort, had always liked Emily; and in the country, which her ladyship thought might be healthy, but that was all that could be said for it—such a companion would be inestimable; and, to do her justice, she had other and kinder motives. A week's residence had given her sufficient knowledge of the statistics of the county to
