Diana was transported with delight. Nothing could have pleased her better.
Then Noel was addressed:
"Noel dearest, you'll promise me to be a good boy till I come back? And do what Chris tells you?"
Noel's face fell.
"S'posing Chris tells me to put my hand into a bonfire, must I do it? S'posing he tells me to be hurt?"
"Oh, Chris wouldn't be unkind, darling!"
"But he is. He told me to take hold of the stinging-nettle, and it stung me just like a snake."
"Mums, I only told him to do what Nurse said could be done. If you pinch it tightly, it doesn't sting. But he was frightened of it!"
"I don't like to be—er—managed," said Noel, shutting up his lips in obstinate fashion.
"I won't manage you," Chris cried, seeing an anxious look come into his mother's eyes. "We're all going to be most awfully good when Mums is away, just to make her feel easy about us."