“Oh——” they heard Nell’s affrighted gasp, “do forgive me—I—I—didn’t know!”
“Lord,” whispered Gillian—“I forgot we have a staff. I’m always forgetting. Poor Nell, this is enough to put her out of gear for a fortnight——”
“It doesn’t matter at all, Miss,” graciously from the valet.
“Not a bit—I mean thanks awfully,” Nell’s assent came in a gasping torrent. Then she darted back into the room, back to her place on the rug, and sat glowering. Nobody dared speak....
II
It had been several months before Nell would consent at all to meet the illustrious Gillian Sherwood: “She won’t want to meet me—I’m too stupid—I shall hate her—I hate people who ask me questions....”
“But why should she ask you questions, for goodness sake?” Deb had retorted, exasperated. “She’s not a County Council examiner.”
“She will, I know she will. She knows all sorts of brilliant people and she discovers diseases for the papers, so she can’t want me so dreadfully badly.”
“But people needn’t want each other dreadfully badly to just meet in the ordinary way.”
“I hate meeting anyone in the ordinary way,” perversely. And Antonia, who was present, had laughed, and told Deb to leave the shy baby alone. So that it was a shock of astonishment to Antonia when Gillian, after a recent accidental encounter, was straightway enthroned as Nell’s deity....