"It is a great gratification to us that it is so," Mrs. Barton said quietly. "I think each is happy in the companionship of the other."
"And Jack calls your husband 'father'?" Miss Penelope queried sweetly. "Now, how nice that is!"
Mrs. Barton coloured faintly, for she anticipated what was coming.
"And does Theodore call you 'mother'? If so, how charming of him!"
"No, he does not," was the prompt answer. "No one has ever asked him to do so. His father would not suggest it; neither would I. Some day, I believe, Theodore will call me 'mother' of his own free will."
"To be sure, to be sure," Miss Selina agreed briskly. "The boy's not one to be driven an inch, but I believe he can be led by kindness and love. Now, you know, I am nothing if not outspoken," using her pet phrase, "and I always speak my mind. I see well enough that Theodore stands aloof from you, and you are fearful lest your will should clash with his, but I really do not think you need be. If I were you, I would exert my authority over him a little more. I would not let him be so much with that Tom Blake."
"Tom Blake—who is he?" Mrs. Barton asked anxiously.
"He is the blacksmith's little boy," Jack hastened to explain. "I have never seen him, but Theodore has told me all about him."
"I do not think there is much to his credit to tell," Miss Selina continued. "He is one of the worst boys I know, always staying away from school on one excuse or another, always telling falsehoods and swearing, and a regular bully."
"Oh, dear!" Mrs. Barton cried in dismayed accents; "and you say Theodore goes about with him? I don't think his father knows it."