She hesitated so, however, that Mr. Dombey stopped again and looked at her inquiringly.
"I believe nothing is so good for making children lively, sir, as seeing other children playing about them," observed Polly, taking courage.
"I think I mentioned to you, Richards, when you came here," said Mr. Dombey, with a frown; "that I wished you to see as little of your family as possible. You can continue your walk, if you please."
With that he disappeared into an inner room, and Polly felt that she had fallen into disgrace without the least advancement of her purpose; but next night when she came down, he called her to him. "If you really think that kind of society is good for the child," he said sharply, as if there had been no interval since she proposed it, "where's Miss Florence?"
"Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, sir," said Polly eagerly, "but I understood from her little maid that they were not to--" But Mr. Dombey rang the bell, and gave his orders before she had a chance to finish the sentence.
"Tell them always to let Miss Florence be with Richards when she chooses," he commanded; and, the iron being hot, Richards striking on it boldly, requested that the child might be sent down at once to make friends with her little brother.
When Florence timidly presented herself, had Mr. Dombey looked towards her with a father's eye, he might have read in her keen glance the passionate desire to run to him, crying, "Oh, father, try to love me,--there is no one else"; the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold and of offending him. But he saw nothing of this. He saw her pause at the door and look towards him, and he saw no more.
"Come here, Florence," said her father coldly. "Have you nothing to say to me?"
The tears that stood in her eyes as she raised them quickly to his face, were frozen by the expression it wore. She looked down again, and put out her trembling hand, which Mr. Dombey took loosely in his own.
"There! be a good girl," he said, patting her on the head, and regarding her with a disturbed and doubtful look, "go to Richards! go!"