“Suppose I say that I looked for a boy to match the suit? It shows that I have a correct eye, does it not?”
“Yes, madam.”
Ben had still to submit to a critical inspection.
“Your shoes need polishing,” the lady said. “Go down below and get a shine. You will find a bootblack in the lower part of the hotel. Have you change?”
“Yes, madam.”
“Say ‘yes, mother.’ It is as well that you should get used to the name.”
“But I have a mother. Won’t it do as well to call you aunt?”
“No; bear in mind that you are acting. On the stage people are husbands and wives, mothers and sons, for the occasion only.”
“All right. I will look upon you as a stage mother then.”
“Yes, but the illusion must be kept—during our engagement.”