“Oh, yes!” cried the princess; and her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkled. “It would be nice! You and Erebus could come to tea with me and sooper and loonch often and again!”
The Twins looked at each other with eyes full of a sudden dismay. It was not in their scheme of things as they should be that they should go to the Grange in the immaculate morning dress of an English boy and girl, and spend stiff hours in the presence of a crimson baroness.
“That wouldn’t do at all,” said the Terror quickly. “You had better not tell them anything at all about us. They wouldn’t let us come to the Grange; and they’d stop you coming here. It’s ever so much nicer meeting secretly like this.”
“But it would be very nice to meet at the Grange as well as here,” said the princess, who felt strongly that she could not have enough of this good thing.
“It couldn’t be done. They wouldn’t have us at the Grange,” said Erebus, supporting the Terror.
“But why not?” said the princess in surprise.
“The people about here don’t understand us,” said the Terror somewhat sadly. “They’d think we should be bad for you.”
“But it is not so! You are ever so good to me!” cried the princess hotly.
“It’s no good. You couldn’t make grown-ups see that—you know what they are. No; you’d much better leave it alone, and sit tight and meet us here,” said the Terror.
The princess sat thoughtful and frowning for a little while; then she sighed and said: “Well, I will do what you say. You know more about it.”