“Oh!” In a tone of deep regret.
“No. Sorry now. If I’d imagined disappointment—might. But—inconvenient. Don’t wear it often.”
“Oh,” said Steenie again, surprised by the twinkle in the nobleman’s eyes. “I didn’t know. I s’posed you had to. But I should think it would be uncomf’table; ’cause gold is so heavy, and your head so smooth and shiny. I s’pose it would slip off.”
His lordship’s manners certainly were peculiar. He nearly choked himself trying to suppress a laugh and to eat at the same time; but finally yielded to a real guffaw, as noisily as any cow-boy on the hacienda.
“Steenie!” said the manager once more, this time with real severity, and comprehending for the first time how sadly neglected the child had been.
But, fortunately, Lord Plunkett was very good-natured, and wisely divined that his small new acquaintance was rude from ignorance, not intention. Dinner over, he made friends with her directly, and explained away the mistaken notions with which the housemaid had filled her head; while Steenie listened eagerly, delighted to find at last somebody who had both leisure and patience to answer “foolish questions.”
Lord Plunkett did this without waste of words; and at the same time went poking about the place, enjoying the novelty of all he saw, and gaining from Steenie’s talk a pretty fair idea of the daily life at San’ Felisa. “Hm-m. So I see. Brought yourself up, my dear. No mother. Father busy. Servants ignorant. No church. No school. Well, well. Good thing for you, bad for me. Pity about his eyes. Bad, bad. Hope he won’t be blind. Permanently.”
“I hope so, too; though I don’t know who you mean,” said the little girl, sweetly.
“Good child. But—don’t know? Why—father. Your father, of course. Hope he’s the only one losing eyesight and going away. Hate new men. Old ones invaluable. Hope he’ll get better. Come back. Bad country for eyes. Too much sunshine. Not enough green.”
Steenie stopped short on the path. “What was that, sir, please? My—father—blind? My father—going away? Oh, dear Lordship, is that what you said?”