tl2 The Real Charlotte, 



Mind that ! You'll have to thank him for saving your 

 life." 



" Mercy on us," cried Francie ; " what on earth will I say 

 to him ? " 



" Oh, you'll find plenty to say to him ! They're as easy 

 as me old shoe, all those Dysarts ; I'd pity no one that had 

 one of them to talk to, from the mother down. Did you 

 notice at the picnic how Pamela and her brother took all 

 the trouble on themselves ? That's what I call breeding, 

 and not sitting about to be waited on like that great lazy 

 hunks, Miss Hope-Drummond ! I declare I loathe the 

 sight of these English fine ladies, and my private belief is 

 that Christopher Dysart thinks the same of her, though he's 

 too well-bred to show it. Yes, my poor Susan," fondling 

 with a large and motherly hand the cat that was sprawling 

 on her shoulder ; " he's a real gentleman, like yourself, and 

 not a drop of dirty Saxon blood in him. He doesn't bring 

 his great vulgar bull-dog here to worry my poor son — " 



" What did Mr. Lambert say, Charlotte ? " asked Francie, 

 who began to be a little bored by this rhapsody. " Was he 

 talking about the accident ? " 



" Very little," said Charlotte, with a change of manner ; 

 " he only said that poor Lucy, who wasn't there at all, was 

 far worse than any of us. As I told him, you, that we 

 thought was dead, would be down to-morrow, and not 

 worth asking after. Indeed we were talking about business 

 most of the time — " She pressed her face down on the 

 cat's grey back to hide an irrepressible smile of recollection. 

 " But that's only interesting to the parties concerned." 



CHAPTER XVL 



Francie felt an unexpected weakness in her knees when 

 she walked downstairs next day. She found herself clutch- 

 ing the stair-rail with an absurdly tight grasp, and putting 

 her feet down with trembhng caution on the oil-cloth stair 

 covering, and when she reached the drawing-room she was 

 thankful to subside into Charlotte's arm-chair, and allow her 

 dizzy head to recover its equilibrium. She thought very 

 little about her nerves ; in fact, was too ignorant to know 



