“Oh, do let him stay to dinner, sir,” said Mrs. Hanlon, eagerly. “He hasn’t been here for a long time, and I have missed him dreadfully.”
“I am afraid it will put you to too much trouble,” answered Mr. Ledwell.
“No, indeed, sir, it’s no trouble at all. It’s a real pleasure.”
“Well, if you are sure he will not be in the way, I will leave him.”
So Sam was allowed to stay to lunch, with Billy, and it would be hard to say which was the more pleased with the arrangement.
One of the greatest treats Sam knew, was to occasionally make a visit to this old friend of the family. He was treated like a king on these visits, for Mrs. Hanlon thought that nothing could be too good for the son of the baby she had nursed. She always cooked the dishes she knew he liked, and then followed what he liked best of all,—stories about his papa when he was a little boy.
“I think these are the very prettiest dishes I ever saw,” said Sam, as they sat down at the neatly spread table in the cosey dining-room. “I wish we had some just like them.”
“They ain’t much by the side of the beautiful ones you have at home.”