“Bless me!” I cried, “whatever do you mean?”
“Well, sir, you see ever since he’s been ’ere, sir, he’s been a making hup to me; leastwise that’s what I thought he meant, sir; but this afternoon bein’ my day hout, I went up to Kensington Gardens for a walk (him a saying as he would be there), and what should I see when I gets there, but him a walkin’ about with half-a-dozen of them nursemaids in white frocks a followin’ of him. Not that I says as it’s altogether his fault; they will run after the military; but it’s more than I can stand, sir, me bein’ that proud at ’avin’ a soldier for a sweetheart, and all,” and she began to cry again.
they will run after the military
I hardly knew what to do, but suggested that she should not think too seriously about it, and General Mary Jane, saying she hoped I would excuse her troubling me in the matter, decided to go to her married sister at Barnes and spend the rest of her day out there, and talk the matter over with her. I had a lot of writing to do all the afternoon, and the time passed so quickly that until the gong sounded for dinner I did not realize that the Wallypug and his party had not returned. It was now past seven, and they should have been home hours since.
I was so anxious about them that I could scarcely eat any dinner, and as soon as the meal was over I hurried to the livery stables to hear if they knew anything about the matter.
The first person I encountered when I arrived there was the coachman, now divested of his fine livery, and busy in the yard.
“Bless you, sir, yes, back hours ago,” said he. “I set his Majesty and the others down at your door about five o’clock, and I did hear them say something about going down to Hammersmith for a walk.”
“To Hammersmith?” I echoed in surprise.
“Yes, sir—they wanted to see the Suspension Bridge and the river again, so I told them the way to get there. They’re all right, sir, I’ll be bound. The Doctor-in-Law is too wide awake for anything to happen to them while he is with them.”