"I don't know either of them, sir, if you'll hexcuse me—"
"Go to the next nearest to Brown's, Sarah," he said in a gentle, lamblike voice.
"Yessir. I 'aven't any money."
He found a sixpence and handed it to her with a bow.
Ted was calmly eating his lunch.
"Servants," observed Denis, "are born without brains, and with the bump of unconscious aggravation dumped in the place where the brains ought to be."
Later, they found that the butter was rank. Before Nell knew what he was going to do Denis had attacked Sarah about it and out came a voluble and injured explanation about the best butter being so dear, and Miss Nell had said they were to have the second best because they ate such a lot and were spending too much money. Nell sat quite calm and quiet; she made no attempt to stop Sarah. She had got beyond that. Ted meanwhile had helped himself to the rank butter, and was heroically eating it, his face stolid.
Denis's brow was thunderous; in a curt voice that set poor Sarah weeping in the kitchen he told her to go.
Then there was an uncomfortable pause.
Ted broke it with an anecdote. He told it, and Nell smiled politely. Sheila Pat sat and considered awhile, then she observed clearly, "I don't see anythin' to laugh at in that story at all!"