"I don't pretend to deny it," she answered.
"Oh, well.—When is tea coming, Nellie?"
"In a few minutes. You are hungry, I suppose."
"Don't you think six miles has earned an early tea?"
"I will ring; but you know the water doesn't boil till five."
She laughed; and when the little maid came, she suggested that all had come back hungry.
"I'll see 'm; I'll tell misses, 'm. The kettle do nearly boil, 'm."
After tea, most of the young party proposed to go to meet Dr. Arundel.
Nellie said she was rather tired, and would sit in the garden instead, and bear Tom company.
Tom, however, felt chilly, and soon wheeled himself into the sitting-room, which was particularly convenient, as the French door opened to the garden without a step of any kind.