no means faultless, and her want of colour was certainly a defect.
She had beautiful hair, which was fine and fluffy as a baby's; its
tint was rather too colourless, but she wore it in a style that
exactly suited her. At this moment, when her eyes were bright with
pleasure and there was a flush on her face, Anna certainly looked
pretty, but such moments were transient with her.

Malcolm pressed her hands affectionately; then he looked her over
with brotherly freedom.

"You look very nice, dear. I see you are dressed for the evening;
are those poppies part of the toilette?"

Then Anna laughed and fingered her pearl necklace as though she were
embarrassed by his scrutiny. "No, of course not--what an absurd
question. Fancy flowers at a drawing-room meeting. I am going to put
them in a vase directly. Now, as mother is engaged just now, I am
going to take you to the schoolroom, and nurse will give us
something to eat."

"Feminine nectar and ambrosia, I imagine," muttered Malcolm to
himself, for he had partaken frequently of these schoolroom feasts.
But he was determined to make the best of things during his short
visit, so he linked his arm in Anna's and said cheerfully, "Lead on,
Hebe, and don't scatter poppies as you go," which was exactly what
she was doing. The schoolroom was still Anna's special room,
although it had changed its character of late years. It was a large,
cheerful front room, two floors above the drawing-room, and Anna had
made it very pretty and comfortable. Here she kept her books and all
her treasures, and here her canaries twittered and sang in the