"I expect Mrs. Maclahan will not object. I must ask her first."
She left the room. Christina began to ask eager questions.
"Are you going into a wood? Is your Aunt Rachael going? What have you got for dinner?"
And when her governess came back with the required permission, Christina dashed off to get into her hat and cloak with a radiant face.
"I will be good," she assured Miss Loder. "I do love going with Dawn and his father. They're so funny, and they're so happy."
She tore down the avenue breathlessly with Dawn, and came to his house as Mr. O'Flagherty was harnessing an old grey mare to a very shabby-looking trap, a loan from some neighbouring farmer.
"Ah!" he said, looking up. "It's a pity John Bull isn't here, the United Kingdom isn't complete without him, but we mean to enjoy ourselves."
"A winter picnic is much better fun than a summer one!" said Dawn. "Have you got the rabbit pie, dad? We're going to boil some eggs, Tina, and eat them scalding hot, and we'll roast some potatoes in the ashes. I'm going to look for a hedgehog and roast him, like the gipsies do. When he's cooked, his prickles come off, and he's like a little chicken!"
Christina shuddered.
"I wish," she said, "nobody or nothing need ever be killed. It's so dreadful to think of!"