"It'll be more fun for you than here."
"Will it?"
She pulled Kate Kearney on to her lap, and stroked her long ears thoughtfully.
"When did your mother die, Teddie?"
"When I was four."
"Do you remember her?"
"A little. I can remember hiding behind a curtain and watching, with all my head stuck out, a lady all in pale yellow hunting in the vases and under the table for me. Other bits I can remember, too. And I remember screaming and howling because I didn't like the black frock they put me into."
She gazed into the fire in silence. Then impulsively she stretched out her arm and laid her hand on his knee.
"Teddie, will you promise me to go to bed at ten to-night?"
"At ten?" He lifted his eyebrows in surprise.