In the meantime, Billie was saying to Beatrice:
“Aren’t you afraid to invite strangers into your house like this? How do you know we are not—well, say a band of thieves? Cousin Helen chief pirate and all of us assistant pirates?”
Beatrice laughed.
“What a droll idea,” she exclaimed. “Of course you are not in the least like adventuresses; but then I had another very good reason, because, you see, I had heard all about you.”
“Heard about us?” they cried, astounded.
“Oh, yes, and I recognized you at once, because Uncle Dodo had only described you to me this morning and I knew quite well I could not be mistaken,—a small blue-eyed lady with white hair and four young girls,—and you are to visit Uncle’s place in Ireland with Madame Cortinas, the singer, and maybe I shall be there, too. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Is Lord Glenarm really your uncle?” they asked.
“Yes, he is Granny’s second son. We think he’s wonderful. He does lots of good. Granny says he has made a stir even if he is so poor.”
“Poor” seemed hardly the word to use in connection with the handsome nobleman they had met at the opera, and the young girls exchanged a covert smile.
Mary had drawn her chair into the circle and was listening silently to the conversation. It was all very interesting, very remarkable, like a scene in a play: tea in a beautiful drawing-room with a real duchess!