‘I beg your pardon,’ said the intruder clumsily; ‘I had expected to find you alone. I have driven over with these little odds and ends in the way of medical comforts for the boy.’
He stood confused, and laid his burden on the table which stood in the centre of the room.
‘Didn’t you guess,’ laughed the little mother from the couch on which she lay, ‘that Miss Hampton would be here before you?’
‘No,’ said Paul. ‘If I had guessed, I should not have intruded. You’ll take these things for the little fellow, won’t you?’
‘You’re not going yet, Mr. Armstrong?’ said the lady on the couch. ‘You and Miss Hampton will have a nice little ride back together.’
‘I should not dream,’ said Paul, ‘of intruding on Miss Hampton, and I must go back at once.’
He had no business in front of him, but he dreaded himself, and he was afraid of a tête-à-tête with the plain little woman with the brown eyes.
‘But,’ said mamma, lifting her head from the arm of the sofa, and casting upon him the look of ingenue archness which was almost her sole fortune on the boards, ‘Miss Hampton’s horse has cast a shoe, and the shoeing-smith is miles away. Did you ride or drive, Mr. Armstrong? I’m sure you couldn’t have ridden with all those nice things you’ve been so kind to bring me. You must have driven, and you must drive Miss Hampton home again. Isn’t it kind of her to have come over to see me from such a distance ‘Just look and see: I’m actually smothered in wine and grapes and jelly and flowers. And wasn’t it kind of you, too, Mr. Armstrong, to think of me just at the same moment! And wasn’t it kind of Miss Hampton’s horse to cast a shoe so that you would be obliged to go back together, whether you meant it or no?’
Miss Hampton was bending over the boy, and her face was hidden; but one blushing cheek gave warranty for the rest, and it was evident to Paul that she was as embarrassed as himself. She spoke icily: ‘Mr. Armstrong was not aware that I was coming here. I must go at once. I have no doubt the landlord will be able to find me another driver.’
‘Now, why on earth,’ asked the little actress from her sofa, ‘should two people who know each other as well as you do take two carriages to drive along the self-same road? Now, when you come to think of it, isn’t that absurd! And such a chance for a spoon, too, all along that quiet road!’