"I say, Melina," he began, "here's tuppence for the tea—I asked father for it when he came home to dinner. I—"
"Keep your tuppence!" interposed Melina, waving aside his extended hand and scowling at him in a vindictive manner; "I don't want it. I bought some more tea."
"Oh, did you? I didn't think you had any money. But, I say, you may as well take the tuppence—that'll be fair."
Melina hesitated—not about taking it, but whether or not she should explain that it had not been her own money which had replaced the tea; she decided against doing so. Thereupon, without answering the boy, she shut the door in his face, and returned to her former position in front of the fire.
By and by there came another knock at the back door. This time the visitor proved to be William Jones' mother, a neat-looking woman with a fresh-complexioned face, and blue eyes like her son's.
"Good afternoon, Melina," she said, as she met the little girl's glance of inquiry; "I'm sorry to hear that your grandmother's ill; I've made her a custard, thinking she may fancy it."
She held out a little basket, covered with a snowy cloth, which Melina took with a few murmured words of thanks, feeling very surprised, for as a rule Mrs. Berryman's neighbours refrained from having anything to do with her.
"I heard your grandmother coughing dreadfully in the night," Mrs. Jones remarked; "it sounded to me as though she had a very bad cold. She's wise to stop in bed, I'm thinking. You get her to eat that custard, and, if she enjoys it, I'll make her another. And oh, by the way, you'll find a bit of cake in the basket—that's for you, for your tea."
"Thank you," said Melina, moving aside the cloth and peeping into the basket. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "what a big bit of cake it is, Mrs. Jones, and how good it looks!"
"Well, I hope you'll find it tastes good," replied Mrs. Jones, smiling; "and, Melina, if you want any help whilst your grandmother's laid up, you just speak to me and I'll come in. I don't suppose there's more to be done than a girl of your age can do about the house; but if Mrs. Berryman should get worse, or you should require assistance in any way—well, you'll know who to call upon.' And with a nod she took her departure.