'For you to teach me?' said Agnes, looking at him inquiringly.
At that moment the servant announced Mr. Harding. The Major went forward and welcomed him cordially.
'You see, you've lost your bet,' Moulton whispered to Harding.
'We were very sorry to lose her,' said Father White, 'and she was sorry to leave, but it would not be right for her to take vows to enter a severe order until she has seen the world and had opportunities of knowing if she has a vocation. On that point I shall be very firm with her, you can rely on me, Mrs. Lahens.'
'I'm afraid that she will never care for society. I'm afraid that this experience will not prove of much avail. She'll return to the convent, I shall be sorry to lose her.'
'She's indeed a good girl, and if she finds that she has a vocation—'
'Now, you are speaking about me,' said Agnes. 'I can hear the word vocation.'
Mrs. Lahens smiled and was about to reply when the servant announced
Miss Lilian Dare.
Lilian was a red blonde; her rich chestnut hair fell over her ears like wings, and she was showily dressed in an expensive French gown which did not suit her, which made her seem older than she was.
'So you have come alone?'