“How lovely you look in that pose, dear,” she said. “You certainly have the loveliest profile! And how quickly and—and easily you write! It takes me no end of a time to get my sentences together, and the spelling—I suppose you can spell like a dictionary?”
“Not quite so well,” said Doris, with a smile; “but fortunately, there aren’t many words of ten syllables required for this note,” and she handed it for Lady Despard’s inspection, but her ladyship extended both hands with a gesture of refusal.
“No, dear; I don’t want to see it, and won’t! I can trust to your taste and discretion, and shouldn’t think of being so rude and presuming as to read it! I’m sure it’s everything that’s nice!”
Doris laughed again.
“You are not very hard to please, Lady Despard,” she said, with a little flush.
“I should be, if I were not pleased with you, you little snake charmer,” responded her ladyship, leaning over her and gently pulling the tiny, shell-like ear. “And now let’s go for a drive! I want you to get some roses in those pale cheeks of yours. I think you are looking better already, do you know?”
“I should be very ungrateful if I were not,” said Doris. “But hadn’t I better tell the butler that these two gentlemen are coming to dinner?”
“I declare you think of everything!” exclaimed her ladyship. “You must have been wonderfully trained, Doris!”
A faint flush rose to the pale cheeks, and then left it all the paler for the swiftly passing color.
“Poor people learn to be thoughtful. The dear friend to whom I owe everything, Lady Despard, spent all his life in tender devotion to me!”