"And yours?"
"Simone."
"What do you do all day, Simone?"
"I wash and cook and sew and play—I have much to do—oh, much." She assumed an important air. "The bad air of the room makes maman ill, so she's out—'to breathe,' she says—and she locks me safely in. I play Bostock and dive like maman. And sometimes"—she lowered her voice, and looking back to see if they were alone—confided, "I cry."
"Ah!" sympathized Bulstrode.
"But, yes," she insisted, "when maman forgets to come home, and the night is so black; then the seamstress next door knocks on the wall, and I knock back for company."
"I see," he understood gently, "for company."
He rang for Prosper. "You will conduct mademoiselle home, Prosper, and give her everything she needs for her kitchen always."
"Yes, monsieur; I knew that monsieur would——"
At sight of Prosper the mite gathered up her voluminous skirts and bade her new friend a cordial good-by.