She had been so proud of that table. The caterer had outdone himself. Besides the four 'Preserves of Fowl' there were great bowls of cooter stew with the terrapin's luscious green fat swimming in sherry sauce. There were piles of roasted eggs and fried oysters fresh that day from the creek behind Debordieu. And there was rice: huge sculptured mounds of the flaky white grains. Even Theo had not dared serve a meal here without rice.

These delicacies were but pale triumphs compared to the two centerpieces. The caterer, imbued by artistic fervor, had fashioned on one platter two lifelike doves of blancmange, hovering upon a mammoth nest of shredded and candied orange peel; while on the other platter towered a huge cake in the shape of a castle, and the Alston coat of arms was picked out in colored comfits upon the iced walls. Theo had meant this as a delicate compliment, or, if they chose, a touch of humor. It produced no emotion at all except astonishment tempered with suspicion.

True, Polly Young said, 'How beautiful! It almost seems a shame to cat such pretty confections'—and smiled her wide, good-natured smile. But Maria with an audible sniff remarked to Mr. Huger on her left: 'How strange to serve food tortured into such unnatural shapes. I doubt that it is wholesome. I'm sure I shall not dare cat a bit of it'. Though she did manage to consume a goodly amount under cover of an air of chill disapproval. If Theodosia was trying to impress them, she might save her pains. She might far better, thought Maria, comport herself quietly and inconspicuously in all ways in view of her father's disgrace—nestling with humble gratitude beneath the outer tip of the family's wing, not putting herself forward. Thank Heaven, Sir John had not got himself mixed up with that man, after all. That Sir John had at one time made every effort to secure patronage from Aaron she conveniently forgot.

The general drift of Maria's thoughts was obvious to Theodosia. What an atmosphere in which to introduce Aaron! The plan had been mad. Instead of furthering his cause, it would hinder it. For Aaron there would be humiliation, averted eyes, perhaps even insult. It would be better, after all, to smuggle him upstairs to her bedroom if she could. But how? The stairs were in plain sight of the company. How stupid I am, and how badly I've managed this! she thought. Why didn't I offer them the same dull fare and dull entertainment to which they arc accustomed? Or, better yet, why did I invite them at all?