"No, ma'am, I didn't. I thought you was quite too much of an invalid to leave home."
"It is rather an effort," said Flossy drily, "especially considering the neighborhood in which you live."
"It ain't country certainly," returned Sabina; "but it's respectable."
"Ah, like yourself!" said Mrs. Vane. "That was the reason you came to it, I suppose. Don't look angry, Sabina—I was only meaning to make a little joke. But jokes are a mistake with most people. I came to answer your letter in person and to have a talk with you."
"Won't you have anything to eat, ma'am? We've just finished dinner; but, if there's anything we can get"—Sabina was evidently inclined to be obsequious—"an egg, or a chop, or a cup of tea——"
"No, I don't want anything. Who is this Mr. Reuben Dare?"
"That's what I want to know, ma'am!"
"And who is this Miss West?"—Sabina shook her head.
"She calls him her father—I'm sure of that."
"Where does she come from? Where was she brought up?"