“Yes, I should like it very much.”
“And when you are in bed, you promise me to be very good?”
“As good as an angel.”
“You will do your best to go to sleep?”
“My very best.”
“Very quietly, without thinking of anything?”
“Very quietly, without thinking of anything.”
“Very well, then.”
Ten minutes after, Bettina’s pretty head rested gently amid embroideries and lace. Susie said to her sister:
“I am going down to those people who bore me dreadfully this evening. Before going to my own room, I shall come back and see if you are asleep. Do not speak. Go to sleep.”