Harry, in his good-natured way, said, “All right,” and off my lords went. I was very cross when I heard about it; but Harry said they were grown-up young men, and perhaps they wanted to go to the theatre.
I wouldn’t let Harry sit up alone, so I sat up too. And, if you please, it was past two in the morning when a cab stopped at the door. And, when Harry let them in, if these two young gentlemen were not in a nice condition! Their hats were stuck on the backs of their heads, and they could hardly stand upright—they were so much the worse for what they had had.
They grinned a most idiotic grin when they saw me, and tried to say something polite; but they couldn’t get a distinct sentence out.
While I was lighting their candles they sat on the stairs and talked a lot of gibberish, and looked like idiots. It was really quite painful.
I said to Harry, “Get them up to bed, for goodness’ sake, and carry their candles, or they’ll set the place on fire.”
Harry tried to get them up, and by propping one against the wall and holding him up with one hand, while with the other he helped the other to get on his legs, he managed it at last. Then they both took hold of his arms, and they tried to go upstairs three abreast, but before they got half-way they both tumbled down, and pulled Harry on top of them, and the candlestick fell out of his hand and came clattering downstairs.
Harry laughed, but I was awfully wild. It wasn’t the sort of thing for a respectable house like ours; and I was so afraid some of the other customers would hear the noise and be disturbed by it.
I had to help Harry to get them up again, and I said, “Do please try and go to bed quietly, there’s good young gentlemen. You’re disturbing the whole house!”
They said, “All right, Mrs. Beckett. You’re goo’short, you are.” And they did try to steady themselves, and we managed to get them all right to the first landing, I going up in front with the candles. I wasn’t going behind, for fear they should all fall down on top of me.
But when we got to the top of the landing I thought I heard a slight noise. I looked up, and there, with a candle in her hand leaning over the banister, was that Mrs. Pryce.