The two girls walked down the aisle. Jessie held out her hand to Anne Dodd.
“How do you do?” she said. “Grace, how are you? Mother has sent a message. She wants to know if you will both come up to our place to-morrow to see the charades; I think they’ll be quite amusing. Would your father mind—your father and mother I mean—mind your coming?”
“I don’t know; I will ask them,” said Anne.
“Can you let us have a message back by to-morrow morning?”
“Yes, we’ll send a messenger round,” said Anne. “I expect father and mother will be pleased,” she added, “and if so we’ll come.”
“Anne, duckie,” said Kitty at that moment. Anne pretended not to hear. “Now, I declare, I’ll have to talk to ye in Irish,” said Kitty, who observed that Peggy was approaching; “to be sure now, alannah!—Peggy, Peggy, how do they say it in Irish? I want to ask a great big favour.”
“Ye couldn’t say it in Irish if ye talked yerself blue,” said Peggy. She turned her back on Kitty and went on talking to Ralph Ladislaw.
“Look at her; how she’s flirting with that handsome boy!” said Kitty. “Well, I’m sure I don’t care; he must have a funny taste to like her.”
“I don’t agree with you,” said Anne; “she is remarkably handsome, and has, in addition, the most sweet face.”
“Well, anyhow, we needn’t bother about her face now,” said Kitty. “I feel wonderfully happy; I feel somehow that I ought, being happy myself, to help others. There’s some one at Preston Manor whom I want to help, and might I have your motor-car just to go down to Preston Manor? You won’t be returning to your home for some time.”