"Are you going back with me, mother?" asked Fanny, after a pause, as her mother walked beside her.
"I should like to come and sit down in the kitchen for a rest, after my long walk. You might ask your mistress if she has any objection."
They had reached the side entrance, and Fanny took a key from her pocket to let herself in.
"Come in, mother. Mrs. Lloyd won't mind, I am sure," she said.
"I would rather you went and told her I had come, Fanny," said Mrs. Brown, hesitating at the open door.
"Oh, well, come inside while I go and tell her," said the girl, sharply.
She was back again in a minute or two. "I am to make you a cup of tea after your long walk," she said, "and you can tell me all the news while I am getting it." And Fanny stirred the fire under the kettle and reached down a cup and saucer in a great bustle. "How is father?" she asked carelessly.
"Better now. But he had a bad fall on Saturday night, and was ill all day yesterday."
"Oh La! How did he fall?" exclaimed Fanny, pausing in her bustle of preparation. "I didn't think my words were coming true like that," she added, with a little more concern.
Her mother told her that the fall took place in the town when they were out marketing; but she did not enter into particulars, assuring her that the danger was all over now.