Although the corporeal part of the old vulgarian grated on her susceptibilities, she was quite willing to believe that if one chose to dig deep enough it would prove to be only the rough earth covering a positive mine of rare temperamental gems; and in her blindness whistled cheerily as she thought of the joy her aunt would feel at not having to drop her title when she changed her name, and at being able to retain the same initials for her monogram.
CHAPTER XV
"To sell a bargain well is as cunning as fast and loose."—Shakespeare.
"Now I want you to listen to me, Leonie!"
"I am, Auntie!"
"I mean seriously! I want to talk about myself for one thing, and our very straitened means, which do not permit us to go on living even like this; and oh! lots of other things."
"Right, darling!" said her niece, moving across the room to sit on a broad stool at her relation's feet, but twisting her head to one side with a quick movement when her aunt laid her hand dramatically upon the tawny hair.
"Please, Auntie, don't! I can't bear to have my head touched!"
"Just what I want to talk about!" vaguely said Susan Hetth as she tried to disentangle an old-fashioned ring which had unfortunately caught a few shining hairs in its loose setting.
"Please don't touch my head, Auntie!" repeated Leonie as she sat back. "Let my hair go, please!"