Mrs. Thomas was a kind-hearted, motherly woman, whose sympathies had been aroused by the account Nellie had given her of the old jeweller's lonely little cousin.
"I am sure you must be dull sometimes, my dear, living in a house without other children," she said, turning to Mousey when they were all seated at the tea-table; "you must come and see us as often as you like. We shall always be glad to see you."
Mousey thanked her gratefully, and acknowledged she was often dull on the Saturday holiday, because she had no one to talk to but Maria, her cousin and John Monday being always busy in the shop. Mrs. Thomas had not heard of John Monday before, so Mousey had to explain who he was, and was relieved to find that Nellie's mother did not appear shocked and astonished, as Nelly had seemed, on hearing the boy had been born and bred in the workhouse, and in consequence her heart warmed towards her kind hostess. Shortly before the time arrived for Mousey to leave, Mr. Thomas returned from business, and gathered a big bunch of flowers for her. He invited her to come again when the strawberries would be ripe, and pointed out that the berries were already set.
Presently John Monday was discovered lurking outside the garden gate, too shy to walk boldly up to the front door and announce his presence; and then Mousey said good-bye to her new friends, after thanking them gratefully for their kindness to her.
"I've had a lovely time," she told John Monday as they walked home together. "I've not been so happy since mother died as I've been to day. You shall have some of my flowers. Aren't they beauties? Look at these lilies of the valley, and smell how sweet they are."
She lifted the nosegay to his face whilst he sniffed at it, and smiled his appreciation.
"Why didn't you come up to the door and ring the bell?" she asked.
"I hadn't been waiting very long," he answered evasively; "not more than a quarter of an hour."
"Oh, but that was a long time! I would have come before if I had known you were there. Mr. Thomas gave me these flowers, and he asked me to come again when the strawberries are ripe. That will be soon, won't it?"
"In a week or so, I suppose. I say, doesn't it seem horrid going back to Mr. Harding's dull old place after having been there?" the lad asked, jerking his thumb backwards in the direction from which they had come.