"It may be a friend of Plunket's, or a mistake."
Apparently it was neither, for at this moment the door was flung open, and,—
"Lady Grubb!" was announced.
Very eagerly she advanced to Clara, with round, smiling face, and outstretched hands, saying,—
"So glad to find you at home! My sister told me to be sure and call, and as I was at the stores,"—here she paused and faltered, literally cowed by the expression of Miss Platt's eyes—Miss Platt, who drew back, elongated her neck, and looked insolent interrogation.
"I think you have been so good as to come and see me," murmured Helen, hastily advancing to the rescue. "You are Mrs. Creery's sister?"
"Yes, and of course you are Miss Denis," seizing her outstretched hand as if it were a life-belt, for poor Lady Grubb was completely thrown off her balance, by the stern demeanour of the other damsel.
Helen led her to a sofa, and tried to engage her in friendly conversation, but it was not easy to converse, with her two cousins sitting rigidly by, as if they were on a board of examination, and not suffering a word or look to escape them. They sat and gazed at Lady Grubb in quite a combined and systematic manner; to them she was such a unique object, and such utterly "awful style."
She, like her sister, was endowed with a copious flow of language, but the very fountain of her speech was frozen by these two ice maidens. The first few words she did manage to utter, were hurried and incoherent, but presently she found courage to inquire after Maria, and Nip, and Creery (horrible to relate, she called him "Creery"), and also after many people, she had heard about at Port Blair.
It was very plain to Helen, that Maria had painted her island home, with an unsparing supply of gorgeous colours, and Lady Grubb looked upon her absent relative's position, as something between that of the Queen of Sheba, and the Princess Badoura without doubt. She then murmured a few words of really kind condolence to Helen, and if she had taken her departure at this point, all would have been well; but she was now becoming habituated to the stony stare of the Misses Platt, and felt more emboldened to converse,—and some malicious elf put it into her head to say, with a meaning smile,—