Page:Anthony Hope - The Dolly Dialogues.djvu/41

 'The cat is that,' said I. 'I would not give a fig for it.'

'And the Dowager taught me the ways of the house.'

'Ah, she taught me the way out of it.'

'And showed me how to be most disagreeable to the servants.'

'It is the first lesson of a housekeeper.'

'And told me what Archie particularly liked, and how bad it was for him, poor boy.'

'What should we do without our mothers? I do not, however, see how I can help in all this, Lady Mickleham.'

'How funny that sounds!'

'Aren't you accustomed to your dignity yet?'

'I meant from you, Mr. Carter.'

I smiled. That is Dolly's way. As Miss Phaeton says, she means no harm, and it is admirably conducive to the pleasure of a tête-à-tête.

'It wasn't that I wanted to ask you about,' she continued, after she had indulged in a pensive sigh (with a dutifully bright smile and a glance at Archie's photograph to follow. Her behaviour always reminds me of a varied and well-assorted menu). 'It was about something much more difficult. You won't tell Archie, will you?'

'This becomes interesting,' I remarked, putting my hat down.

'You know, Mr. Carter, that before I was married—oh, how long ago it seems!'

'Not at all.'