An Afternoon at Ruddymere.

Shortly after the occurrences of the previous chapter our four of Dulham vicarage were invited to a large garden party at the country seat of the Marquis of Humnoddie, a few miles distant. The Ruddymere people, like other county families of the neighbourhood, often drove over on a Sunday to hear Mr Bristley’s afternoon lectures, which were always on subjects suited to a cultivated audience. This common point of interest led to a genuine friendship, among the privileges of which Lady Humnoddie, who treated most matters as a joke, reckoned that of chaffing Lesbia about her advanced ideas.