Then she turned to go upstairs, sighing as she did so. Penelope echoed the sigh in a most audible manner. Miss Tredgold was arrested by the sound, and looked down.
“Ah, little girl!” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought perhaps you’d like me to help you,” said Penelope. “I wor waiting for you to come out of Pad’s room.”
“Don’t use that hideous word ‘wor.’ W-a-s, was. Can you spell?”
“No; and I don’t want to,” said Penelope.
“We’ll see about that. In the meantime, child, can you take me to my room?”
“May I hold of your hand?” said Penelope.
“May you hold my hand, not of my hand. Certainly not. You may go on in front of me. You have got clearly to understand—— But what did you say your name was?”
“Penelope.”
“You must clearly understand, Penelope, that I do not pet children. I expect them to be good without sugar-plums.”