“I like to talk with you, but Frost was not very social, and we had very little conversation.”
One afternoon Mrs. Granville asked Paul to drive round to the grocery store. She wished to get a supply of a particular kind of cheese which she had neglected to order through the housekeeper.
It so happened that there were several customers ahead of her, and she had to wait her turn. These were being supplied with various articles, and the old lady could not help overhearing what passed between them and the storekeeper. One thing in especial attracted her attention—the prices that were charged. They were in every instance below those charged on the bills handed in to her by Mrs. Mercer. Mrs. Granville made careful note of these prices, and on the way home broached the matter to Paul.
“What does it mean, Paul, do you think?” she asked.
Paul’s wits had been sharpened by his city experience, and he rapidly penetrated the secret.
“You always buy through Mrs. Mercer, do you not?” he asked.
“Yes; but what of that?”
“If I answer it may prejudice you against the housekeeper, and perhaps unjustly.”
“Still it is only right that you should tell me.”