He returned a few minutes later, faintly smiling, sat down by her side and drew Eileen between his knees.
"Well," he said. "I guess it's all fixed up. We're going to give you a nursery governess, Innocence. I hope you'll treat her with respect."
"Oh, but, Jake—" protested Maud.
He turned to her. "Yes, she's going to make herself useful. I don't believe in anyone living in idleness. We'll begin as we mean to go on, and she's got to help. I told his lordship so. If she doesn't suit,—well, I guess she'll go back where she came from. I told him that too."
"What did he say?" questioned Maud.
"He agreed of course." Jake's tone was ironical. "Said she was nothing but a child herself. He was very emphatic on that point."
"Don't you believe him?" asked Maud with a hint of sharpness.
"Not as a rule," said Jake. "Mostly never—when he's emphatic. However, time will prove. She will be here to lunch, and I've told Bunny to meet her with the dog-cart."
"Are we going to have lessons?" asked Eileen.
He looked into the soft eyes and the irony went out of his smile. "I don't know if I can bear to have you taught anything, Innocence," he said. "You're just right as you are."