And then Anstice, still stirring the fire to hide her hot cheeks, said in her easy, pleasant way:
"We all love each other, Ruffie, I hope. And if anyone is weak or ill or helpless, we must show our love, even to animals. I saw a little boy yesterday clutching hold of a kitten in spite of its cries. It wanted to go to its mother, and he wanted to keep it with him, so as he was the strongest, he used force, instead of showing love for the poor little mite."
Ruffie hung his head.
"I wanted to make it love me best," he said. "If it had loved me proper, it would have wanted to stay with me."
Josie and Georgie appeared, and the conversation ended.
But when Anstice went to give her good night kiss to Ruffie, he said to her, with an old-fashioned shake of his curly head:
"I think Dad would like you to love him like you do me. He said he felt lonely sometimes. And I told him I used to, but you knowed how to kiss loneliness away. He said he wished you'd try it on him!"
"Oh, Ruffie, my precious," said Anstice, laying her cheek against his, with her rippling laugh, "don't you worry over Dad. He and I understand each other. And he won't be lonely when he gets to his yacht again. He will be leaving us soon."
"I'm going to ask God about that," said Ruffie mysteriously. "I think God could get rid of that yacht for us. None of us like it taking Dad away so often, and God can do anything in the way of storms, can't He?"
"Go to sleep, and never pray that anything may be destroyed, darling."