“I shall thank William not to discuss me in the future.”
“Oh, but your ears would have burned if you’d heard the rest.”
“What wonder! To allow a stranger to discuss such intimate matters is—is almost indecent.”
“Remember it was as Joe that Mr. Barnes spoke. But,” she added thoughtfully, “I’m not sure Joe himself would have spoken so beautifully.”
“The bold, young fellow.”
“The most wonderful thing of all,” continued the girl, her eyes growing wistful, “was the way he talked to Daddy about mother. How was he able to do that when he never knew her—never saw her?”
“Your mother,” replied Aunt Philomela, soberly, “would never forgive me if she knew I countenanced such goings on.”
“How was he able to do it?” repeated Eleanor, her thoughts spanning a decade.
Aunt Philomela scanned the girl’s face anxiously, lovingly.
“La, dear,” she murmured.