“A lesson?” the Miss Bannisters’ Brother asked in surprise.
“Yes, in eye-mending. When eyes fall inside and rattle, you know.”
The Miss Bannisters’ Brother sat down, and took Roy between his knees. There was something about this little dusty, nervous boy that his clients (often tearful enough) had never displayed before, and he wished to understand it. “Now tell me all about it,” he said.
Roy told him everything, right from the first.
“And what is your father’s name?” was the only question that had to be asked. When he heard this, the Miss Bannisters’ Brother rose. “You must stay here a minute,” he said.
“But—but the lesson?” Roy exclaimed. “You know I ought to be getting back again. Christina——”
“All right, just a minute,” the Miss Bannisters’ Brother replied.
When the Miss Bannisters’ Brother came back, Miss Selina came with him. “Come and get tidy. You are just in time for dinner,” she said, “and afterwards we are going to drive home with you.”
“Oh, but I can’t stop for dinner!” Roy cried. “It’s much too important to stop for dinner; I’m not really hungry, either.”
“Dinner will only take a little while,” said Miss Selina, “and the horses can be getting ready at the same time; and if you were to walk you wouldn’t be home nearly so soon as you will if you drive, dinner-time included.”