it was christmas at last; and all the three young people had been missing since before luncheon in a most mysterious manner. but betty leicester, who came in late and flushed, managed to sit next her father; and he saw at once, being well acquainted with betty, that some great affair was going on. she was much excited, and her eyes were very bright, and there was such a great secret that mr. leicester could do no less than ask to be let in, and be gayly refused and hushed, lest somebody else should know there was a secret, too. warford, who appeared a little later, looked preternaturally solemn, and edith alone behaved as if nothing were going to happen. she was as grown-up as possible, and chattered away about the delights of new york with an old london barrister who was lady mary's uncle, and warford's guardian, and chief adviser to the great danesly estates. edith was so pretty and talked so brightly that the old gentleman looked as amused and happy as possible.

"he may be thinking that she's coming down to dinner, but he'll look for her in vain," said betty, who grew gayer herself.

"not coming to dinner?" asked papa, with surprise; at which betty gave him so stern a glance that he was more careful to avoid even the appearance of secrets from that time on; and they talked together softly about dear old tideshead, and aunt barbara, and all the household, and wondered if the great christmas box from london had arrived safely and gone up the river by the packet, just as betty herself had done six or seven months before. it made her a little homesick, even there in the breakfast-room at danesly,—even with papa at her side, and lady mary smiling back if she looked up,—to think of the dear old house, and of serena and letty, and how they would all be thinking of her at christmas time.

the great hall was gay with holly and christmas greens. it was snowing outside for the first time that year, and the huge fireplace was full of logs blazing and snapping in a splendidly cheerful way. dinner was to be earlier than usual. a great festivity was going on in the servants' hall; and when warford went out with lady mary to cut the great christmas cake and have his health drunk, betty and edith went too; and everybody stood up and cheered, and cried, "merry christmas! merry christmas! and god bless you!" in the most hearty fashion. it seemed as if all the holly in the danesly woods had been brought in—as if christmas had never been so warm and friendly and generous in a great house before. christmas eve had begun, and cast its lovely charm and enchantment over everybody's heart. old dislikes were forgotten between the guests; at christmas time it is easy to say kind words that are hard to say all the rest of the year; at christmas time one loves his neighbor and thinks better of him; christmas love and good-will come and fill the heart whether one beckons them or no. betty had spent some lonely christmases in her short life, as all the rest of us have done; and perhaps for this reason the keeping of the great day at danesly in such happy company, in such splendor and warm-heartedness of the old english fashion, seemed a kind of royal christmas to her young heart. everybody was so kind and charming.

lady dimdale, who had entered with great enthusiasm into the christmas plans, caught her after luncheon and kissed her, and held her hand like an elder sister as they walked away. it would have been very hard to keep things from lady mary herself; but that dear lady had many ways to turn her eyes and her thoughts, and so many secret plots of her own to keep in hand at this season, that she did not suspect what was going on in a distant room of the old south wing (where warford still preserved some of his boyish collections of birds' eggs and other plunder), of which he kept the only key. there was a steep staircase that led down to a door in the courtyard; and by this mr. macalister, the schoolmaster, had come and gone, and the young groom of the tenor voice, and five or six others, men and girls, who could either sing or play. it was the opposite side of the house from lady mary's own rooms, and nobody else would think anything strange of such comings and goings. pagot and some friendly maids helped with the costumes. they had practiced their songs twice in the schoolmaster's own house at nightfall, down at the edge of the village by the church; and so everything was ready, with the help of lady dimdale and of mrs. drum, the housekeeper, who would always do everything that warford asked her, and be heartily pleased besides.

so lady mary did not know what was meant until after her christmas guests were seated, and the old vicar had said grace, and all the great candelabra were lit, high on the walls between the banners and flags, and among the staghorns and armor lower down, and there were lights even in the old musicians' gallery, which she could see as she sat with her back to the painted leather screen that hid the fireplace. suddenly there was a sound of violins and a bass-viol and a flute from the gallery, and a sound of voices singing—the fresh young voices of warford and betty and edith and their helpers, who sang a beautiful old christmas song, so unexpected, so lovely, that the butler stopped halfway from the sideboard with the wine, and the footmen stood listening where they were, with whatever they had in hand. the guests at dinner looked up in surprise, and lady dimdale nodded across at mr. leicester because they both knew it was betty's plan coming true in this delightful way. and fresh as the voices were, the look of the singers was even better, for you could see from below that all the musicians were in quaint costume. the old schoolmaster stood in the middle as leader, with a splendid powdered wig and gold-laced coat, and all the rest wore coats and gowns of velvet and brocade from the old house's store of treasures. they made a charming picture against the wall with its dark tapestry, and lady dimdale felt proud of her own part in the work.

there was a cry of delight from below as the first song ended. betty in the far corner of the gallery could see lady mary looking up so pleased and happy and holding her dear white hands high as she applauded with the rest. nobody knew better than lady mary that dinners are sometimes dull, and that even a christmas dinner is none the worse for a little brightening. so betty had helped her in great as well as in little things, and she blessed the child from her heart. then the dinner went on, and so did the music; it was a pretty programme, and before anybody had dreamed of being tired of it the sound ceased and the gallery was empty.

after a while, when dessert was soon coming in, and the christmas pudding with its flaming fire might be expected at any moment, there was a pause and a longer delay than usual in the serving. people were talking busily about the long table, and hardly noticed this until with loud knocking and sound of music, old bond, the butler, made his appearance, with an assistant on either hand, bearing the plum pudding aloft in solemn majesty, the flames rising merrily from the huge platter. behind him came a splendid retinue of the musicians, singing and playing; every one carried some picturesque horn or trumpet or stringed instrument from lady mary's collection, and those who sang also made believe to play in the interludes. behind these were all the men in livery, two and two; and so they went round and round the table until at last warford slipped into his seat, and the pudding was put before him with great state, while the procession waited. the tall shy boy forgot himself and his shyness, and was full of the gayety of his pleasure. the costumes were all somewhat fine for christmas choristers, and the young heir wore a magnificent combination of garments that had belonged to noble peers his ancestors, and was pretty nearly too splendid to be well seen without smoked glass. for the first time in his life he felt a brave happiness in belonging to danesly, and in the thought that danesly would really belong to him; he looked down the long room at lady mary, and loved her as he never had before, and understood things all in a flash, and made a vow to be a good fellow and to stand by her so that she should never, never feel alone or overburdened again.

betty and edith and the good schoolmaster (who was splendid in his white wig, and a great addition to the already brilliant company) took their own places, which were quickly made, and dessert went on; the rest of the musicians had been summoned away by mrs. drum, the housekeeper,—all these things having been planned beforehand. and then it was soon time for the ladies to go to the drawing-room, and betty, feeling a little tired and out of breath with so much excitement, slipped away by herself and to her own thoughts; of lady mary, who would be busy with her guests, but still more of papa, who must be waited for until he came to join the ladies, when she could have a talk with him before they said good-night. it was perfectly delightful that everything had gone off so well. lady dimdale had known just what to do about everything, and edith, who had grown nicer every day, had sung as well as mary beck (she had becky's voice as well as her look, and had told betty it was the best time she ever had in her life); and warford had been so nice and had looked so handsome, and lady mary was so pleased because he was not shy and had not tried to hide or be grumpy, as he usually did. betty liked warford better than any boy she had ever seen, except harry foster in tideshead. they would be sure to like each other, and perhaps they might meet some day. harry's life of care and difficulty made him seem older than warford, upon whom everybody had always showered all the good things he could be persuaded to take.