'Well,' said Aunt Annie darkly, 'I thought it would be as well to be on the safe side....'
'Certainly,' said Henry.
This was Aunt Annie's neat contribution to the necessary prevarication.
They had tea and ham-and-eggs, the latter specially chosen because it was a dish that Henry doted upon. However, he ate but little.
'You're overtired, dear,' his mother ventured.
'Overtired or not, mater,' said Henry with a touch of irony, 'I must do some work to-night. Sir George has asked me to——'
'My dear love,' Mrs. Knight cried out, moved, 'you've no right——'
But Aunt Annie quelled the impulsive creature with a glance full of meaning. 'Sir George what?' she asked, politely interested.
'The governor has asked me to look through his Christmas appeal for the Clerks' Society, and to suggest any alterations that occur to me.'
It became apparent to the ladies, for the thousand and first time, that Sir George would be helpless without Henry, utterly helpless.