Kathleen had managed by rearrangement of the contents to find a place in the trunk for the rebellious gown. She closed the trunk and tied the straps.
"I shall miss you every moment of the day," she sighed.
"Why not come with me and keep my room tidy? Now that Denis Quirk is home you have no call to be spending your life slaving for the old man."
A hammering at the door prevented Kathleen O'Connor from replying.
"What do you want with me?" cried Molly.
"A gentleman would be asking to see you—Mr. Cairns," Mrs. Gorman answered from the passage.
"Now, what would he be wanting with me?" asked Molly. "Tell him I am coming," she cried. "Am I tidy, Kathleen?"
"Of course you are," replied Kathleen. "I will put the smaller things in your bag for you while you entertain him."
Molly found Cairns waiting for her in the passage. Always punctilious in his dress to-day he was exceptionally spruce, his tie very new, and clothes without one crease.
"Come into the garden, Molly," he said, and there was an unaccustomed nervousness in his voice that caused Molly to ask: