"The villain!" she muttered between set teeth, as she turned and proceeded to retrace her steps. "I'll show him."
Arrived back at Fenton Street, she went straight upstairs and proceeded to make an elaborate toilet. A little more than an hour later the front door once more closed behind her, and Mrs. Bindle proceeded upon her way, buttoning her painfully tight gloves, conscious that sartorially she was a triumph of completeness.
IV
"An' 'as 'er Nibs been a good gal all the week?" Bindle paused in the act of raising a glass of ale to his lips.
"I have, mums, haven't I?" Elsie Brunger broke in, without giving her mother a chance to reply.
Mrs. Brunger nodded. The question had caught her at a moment when her mouth was overfull of fried plaice and potatoes.
"That's the ticket," said Bindle approvingly. "No bein' out late an' gettin' 'ome with the milk, or"—he paused impressively—"I gets another gal, see?"
By this time Mrs. Brunger had reduced the plaice and potatoes to conversational proportions.
"She's been helping me a lot in the house, too," she said from above a white silk blouse that seemed determined to show how much there really was of Mrs. Brunger.
Elsie looked triumphantly across the supper-table at Bindle.