MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 117 



was bent on departing. " I suppose you know," he added, 

 " that your cousin, Mr. Bickersdyke, has taken a cottage at 

 Allington. I presume he is going to watch events." 



" Has he ? Well, let him," Lavvy replied ; and Jack saw 

 a look of determination upon the girl's face which made it, 

 he thought, more charming than ever. It was evident that 

 Miss Badsworth did not think very highly of her cousin, a 

 fact which Jack grasped with some satisfaction. 



" Is there anything more I can do for you ? " he asked. 



" You haven't done much, have you ? " 



" No, by Jove, I haven't, but — I should like to." 



He was a very pleasant young man and Lavvy quite under- 

 stood his meaning. She felt rather loath to shock him, but 

 business was business. Undoubtedly she was a Badsworth ; 

 when she undertook anything she liked to carry it through. 

 Nevertheless she hesitated before she made what she thought 

 would be a plunge into the prejudices of this young man. 



" Say the word," he said, watching her face with amuse- 

 ment. 



" Could you lend me an old red coat ? the more weather- 

 stained the better," she asked. 



His face was a study as for a moment his jaw dropped in 

 astonishment. 



'' A— what ? " he asked. 



There was a little lump in Lavvy's throat, and she cleared 

 it before she explained with the question : " I cannot go 

 exercising, and eventually cub-hunting, in a brand new coat, 

 can I ? " 



" I — suppose not," he replied with his thoughts wan 

 dering. 



Lavvy could not recall such a sense of humiliation at any 

 previous period of her life as that which swept over her at 

 that moment. Like many other people similarly situated 

 she was under the impression that she didn't care; now she 

 found she did. But the Badsworth determination or ob- 

 stinacy, or what you like to call it, came to her aid. 



" You evidently have not weighed the exigencies of the 



