The beech trees in the park were in full perfection.
Fruit hung ripe and heavy in the orchards. It was no longer the
blossoming promise of spring, but the perfect glory of summer.
For many long years Earlescourt had not been so gay. The whole
country-side rang with fashionable intelligence. The house was
filled with visitors, Lord Airlie heading the list. Lionel
Dacre, thinking but little of the time when the grand old place
would be his own, was full of life and spirits.
Long arrears of hospitalities and festivities had to be repaid to
the neighborhood. Beatrice and Lillian had to make their debut
there. Lady Helena decided upon commencing the programme with a
grand dinner party, to be followed by a ball in the evening.
Ronald said something about the weather being warm for dancing.
"We danced in London, papa," said Beatrice, "when the heat was so
great that I should not have felt any surprise if the whole
roomful of people had dissolved. Here we have space--large,
cool rooms, fresh air, a conservatory as large as a London house;
it will be child's play in comparison with what we have gone
through.
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