"Why have you put that idea into her head? It may stick, and then she'll drive me crazy," scolded Nellie; it being perfectly safe to speak openly before the old lady.
"Send her off with Kezia at once," urged George.
"I must go with her."
"Then take Kezia too. If she stays she will split to Bessie. Even if she tries her hardest not to, she won't be able to help herself. You can't keep anything a secret for long in a place like this. You clear off, and I'll go into lodgings—and read more novels."
"Won't that look queer?"
"It would if Kezia stayed: it won't if she goes. I can't put up here with nobody to look after me."
"And you will undertake to move the furniture?"
"I will," he promised.
"Very well," she murmured after a pause. "We can't possibly get away tomorrow, as it will take me a day to pack; but we will go the day after."
"Oh, well, it's no good bothering now," said Miss Yard in a voice of bitter resignation, pushing back her plate and kicking at her footstool. "They've started without us."