"No," she replied, with a significant glance at the disheveled state of the children's toilettes. "I did not think you were fussy."
Murtagh blushed in spite of himself, and looked deprecatingly at the knees of his somewhat worn knickerbockers, while his sister hastened to excuse herself.
"It is impossible to keep tidy with the boys," she explained; "they do pull one about so."
"Come now, the boys didn't tear that dress; you tore it yourself, coming down a tree," said Murtagh.
A contemptuous reply from Rosie seemed likely to lead to a sharp answer, but Adrienne interposed a question.
"Do you always live here?" she asked.
"Of course we do!" answered both the children at once. "There's nowhere else where we could live since we came back from India."
"Are there any more of you besides Winnie and Bobbo?"
"No," said Murtagh, "that's all. And quite enough, I expect you'll think before long," he added, looking into the fire, and suddenly ceasing from his flippant manner.
"Who else is there in the house? Who takes care of you?"