"Not a bit of it! By Gum, Sue, I'm as proud of that conscience of yours as I am of that jar. Not a flaw in either."
After this she played her part so artlessly that Joe chuckled half a dozen times a day. She tackled the Bishop—alone. Quinney saw the great man approaching and told Susan. She wished to bolt, but Quinney disappeared instead, listening to the duologue that followed. The Bishop stared at the fine wares from Tomlin's, whipped out his spectacles, and entered, smiling at Susan's blushing face.
"Good-morning, my lord!"
"Good-morning, Mrs. Quinney. May I look at some of these tempting things?"
He looked at what was best amongst the porcelain sent down by Tomlin, displaying knowledge of the different periods. Then he said courteously, "As this is my first visit, I must buy something for luck. What is the price of that small jar with the prunus decoration? If it is within my means——"
He paused, gravely expectant, but Susan divined somehow what was flitting through his mind; the outrageous prices exacted by old Quinney. She perceived that this was a test purchase. The price of the jar was marked five pounds. Susan said demurely, "We can sell this to you, my lord, for three pounds ten."
"I'll take it, Mrs. Quinney."
He went away with his purchase in his hand. Quinney came back, not too well pleased.
"He'd have given a fiver for it. Why didn't you ask more than we was prepared to take?"
Susan, knowing her own strength, answered decisively: