'This is my little girl, Venetia. Come hither, Venetia, and speak to
Mrs. Cadurcis.'
'How do you do, Mrs. Cadurcis?' said Venetia. 'I am so glad you have come to live at the abbey.'
'The angel!' exclaimed Mrs. Cadurcis. 'The sweet seraph! Oh! why did not my Plantagenet speak to you, Lady Annabel, in the same tone? And he can, if he likes; he can, indeed. It was his silence that so mortified me; it was his silence that led to all. I am so proud of him! and then he comes here, and never speaks a word. O Plantagenet, I am sure you will break my heart.'
Venetia went up to the little lord in the corner, and gently stroked his dark cheek. 'Are you the little boy?' she said.
Cadurcis looked at her; at first the glance was rather fierce, but it instantly relaxed. 'What is your name?' he said in a low, but not unkind, tone.
'Venetia!'
'I like you, Venetia,' said the boy. 'Do you live here?'
'Yes, with my mamma.'
'I like your mamma, too; but not so much as you. I like your gold hair.'
'Oh, how funny! to like my gold hair!'