"I will help you," she said, looking up at her with a smile.
"It won't be so hard with two of us to see to things."
Mrs. Lang's face softened a little, and a smile actually gleamed in her eyes as she glanced from the frying-pan to Jessie. "Yes, you can help a bit, I expect, you seem to know how to set about things. Did you help your grandmother?"
"Oh yes, a lot," said Jessie, and at the recollection the tears brimmed up in her eyes. "I wonder how she is, and how granp is! Oh, I expect he was in a dreadful way when he came home, and heard what had happened!" and at the thought poor Jessie's tears overflowed, and she sobbed bitterly.
"Hush, don't make that noise," said her stepmother quickly, but not unkindly. "Be quiet, child, your father's coming, and he'll beat you if you go on like that. Oh, it's you, Tom," as a young man lounged heavily into the kitchen, "I thought 'twas Harry."
Tom Salter dropped into a chair by the table with a tired yawn.
"Yes, it's me; I'm up, but I ain't awake," he said, with a laugh.
"Hullo," as he caught sight of Jessie, "is this the little girl you
was telling me about?"
"Yes, this is Jessie."
He looked at Jessie and smiled, and she smiled back. He had a good-tempered face and kind eyes, and she thought she should like him.
"Bit tired, I expect?"
"Yes, thank you, I am," said Jessie shyly.
"Hullo, missis, been having a spring clean?" he asked comically, as he glanced about him. "The place looks so tidy I hardly knew it."