“Oh no, sir; we are almost just assembled,” said Drusilla.
“Then, my dear Anna, ring and order breakfast at once. But where is Dick? At the nearest mews, giving his opinion of the proprietor’s latest purchase, I dare say.”
“Oh, no, sir. He is not there; but he did not feel like sleeping, so he took a bath and dressed and went out to take a walk. He told me he would be back in time for breakfast,” said Anna.
“And you would have thought Anna was some young girl waiting a visit from her betrothed, to have seen her go from one window to another, and gaze out up and down the street,” said Drusilla.
“Anna, you do look a little nervous and excited; what is the matter?” anxiously inquired the General, for he, too, feared that the ‘unlucky dog’ might again have broken bounds and given her trouble. “What is it, Anna?”
“It is loss of rest, grandpa. I could not sleep, so I did not even lie down. These late hours are a terrible tax on a country-bred woman like myself,” replied Anna, evasively.
“To everybody, Anna. I must really put my veto upon parties for every night. For once a week now I would consent to them——But here is Dick at last!—Why the deuce don’t that fellow serve breakfast! Did you ring, Anna?”
“Yes, sir; and I hear the jingling of cups on a tray and so I suppose he is coming,” said Anna, answering her grandpa, but looking anxiously at her husband as he entered the room.
Dick saw that troubled gaze, and smiled to reassure her. Then, after greeting the General and Drusilla, he turned to Anna and said, metaphorically, but in a way that she understood:
“I think I can get that horse I went after, Anna.”