“No, but that doesn’t matter at all, and if you’d really rather——”
“Oh nonsense, Kitty; now that you have come, of course, you will stay. Ring the bell, will you, my dear?”
Kitty did so. Mrs. Wyndham gave some directions; Kitty sat down to the table, and Wyndham left the room. As soon as he had gone, Kitty took her plate, knife, and fork, and put herself close to Mrs. Wyndham.
“You will forgive me, won’t you?” she said, looking up at her with her appealing dark eyes.
“Yes, of course.”
“I can’t help, you know, being awfully fond of you,” said Kitty.
“My dear little girl, I haven’t seen a great deal of you.”
“But one can get fond of a person without seeing a great deal of her, cannot one?”
“I suppose one can, but, to tell you the truth, Kitty, I am not a very impulsive person myself, so I don’t quite see how you can be fond of me.”
“But you don’t mind if I am?”