Miss Carston. Marky—Marky—Peggy—Peggy—Dinah—Dinah—! I mustn’t make them jealous—mother loves them all. Yes, darlings, mother does. Marky—don’t scratch—Marky! stop! Peggy—mother’s leg. Dinah, was little Dinah frights-frights? Go for walkie-walkie—Dogs! do you hear me when I speak?
(Exeunt dogs.)
Mr. Maitland. What did Diana say?
At that moment Diana, Shan’t, and the doctor came into the room.
“You, Uncle Marcus!” exclaimed Diana with rapture.
“Oh, have you come to fetch me, darlin’ Uncle Marcus?” cried Shan’t, ecstatically, throwing herself into his arms.
“Do you want her?” asked Aunt Elsie, who had much to make up, if anything could ever make up. She gave one hand to the doctor, the other to Marcus, dismissing him. “Did you really come to fetch her? It was good of you. Nannie will get her things together as quickly as possible.”
Uncle Marcus said nothing—he was furious: he had not come to fetch Shan’t and Miss Carston knew it.
Later in the day Diana threw her arms round Aunt Elsie and told her how wonderful the dogs had been—“too—too wonderful!”
Aunt Elsie thought she deserved some praise, and Diana allowed she had been too clever for words.