“He is such a nice man, and so quiet in a house.”
“For that matter,” retorted Mrs. Brande, “he is quiet enough out of the house, and everywhere else.”
“And he is so contented and easily amused,” continued Mrs. Langrishe. “I left him with Lalla reading aloud to him.”
“Do you think that is quite the thing?” inquired Mrs. Brande, with a dubious sniff.
“Why should she not do it as well as hospital nurses?” demanded her visitor.
Mrs. Brande reflected on the result of her own nursing. Would this nursing have the same effect?
“Hospital nurses are generally young, single, and very frequently pretty,” resumed Mrs. Langrishe. “They read to their patients, and take tea with them, and no one says a word. All the difference between them and these girls is, their uniform and their experience; and surely no one ever dreams of making a remark about those excellent, devoted young women!”
Lalla was not excellent, but she had certainly been most devoted—as her aunt thankfully acknowledged.
“Well, I don’t know that I should allow Honor to do it,” said Mrs. Brande, with a meditative air.
“Possibly not. It would, of course, depend upon circumstances. Now”—laying two fingers playfully on Mrs. Brande’s round arm—“I am going to be a little bird, and whisper a little secret in your ear.”