Kykie looked well pleased at this, but having passed the tea, she waved her hands deprecatingly.
"You're just buttering me up to heaven, Poppy!"
"No, I'm not. And he will eat again now he has you to cook for him. Abroad he used to eat frightfully little, but to-day I noticed he made an excellent lunch."
Smiles wreathed Kykie's wide and dropsical face, and every tooth in her head was revealed.
"Dearest me, now Poppy, really? Well! but then I don't suppose they know how to cook very well abroad in London, do they?"
"Not so well as you, of course," said Poppy smiling and munching toast.
Suddenly Kykie's face became dolorous.
"Did they look at his mark much, for heavenly goodness?" she inquired in a dismal whisper.
"Not so much. You know, Kykie, the world is full of all sorts of strange-looking people—especially France and Italy. In Naples, now, they didn't take the slightest notice of him."
"For goodness' sake there must be some sights there!"