'No, he won't be beaten,' she was assured; but after this she had no appetite for her dinner; and when the ladies rose from the table she ran up to Mrs. Fairfax.
'May I have Prince again now? He's so very good. I want him dreadfully.'
'Yes, he shall be brought to you. What are you going to do with the child, Nesta?'
'I will take her out into the garden, mother. But I hear old Mrs. Parr has come up for some linseed meal I promised her. Her husband is very ill again with bronchitis. I shall not be gone long.'
'Then Betty shall come upstairs with me.'
Again Nesta wondered, but wisely said nothing.
Prince came scampering across the hall, and Betty, now completely happy, took hold of Mrs. Fairfax's hand, and went upstairs into a lovely little boudoir, where she sat down in a low cushioned seat by the window, and chattered away to her heart's content.
'Did you send Prince to me? You did, didn't you? I knew it was you! He is such a darling, and it makes me into a couple—which I've never been before.'
Mrs. Fairfax smiled; she seemed to lose some of her stiffness when with Betty alone.
'And is he as much a companion as another brother or sister might be?'