“Humph! I’ll tell you so now, my darling,” said the Doctor, kissing her affectionately; “but my fingers itched to knock him down.”
“And when you had done so, you would have been very sorry, papa dear; for you would have hurt yourself.”
“What, my knuckles?”
“No, papa—your dignity as a gentleman; and you would have hurt me, too, very much.”
“You’re a witch, Very,” said the Doctor, drawing a long sigh. “What an overbearing brute it is! and I’ll be bound to say that son of his will develop into just such another animal.”
“Papa!”
“Hallo! what have I said?” cried the Doctor, with his eyes winking.
“Hit me after all,” said Very to herself, as she ran sobbing out of the room, but only to be caught upon the stairs and tenderly kissed and petted till her eyes grew dry, and the hysterical sobs which would rise to her lips had cleared.