I was hurrying forward when Millais stopped me with his hand, and a silent shake of the head.
“I really can’t let you in, mamma; please put the tray down at the door, and I’ll take it in myself.”
The mother made one more attempt; in vain. On went the talk. When Hunt had risen to say Good-bye,
“Oh no!” said Millais, “you must come in and see the old people,” which brought to my mind the prospect of a terrible quarter of an hour.
Johnnie burst into the sitting-room, I came very bashfully behind. “Now, we’ve come to have a nice time with you, mamma and papa.”
“We don’t wish,” said the mother, “to tax your precious time at all; we have our own occupations to divert us and engage our attention,” and the crochet needles were more intently plied.
“Hoity-toity, what’s all this? Put down your worsted work at once. I’m going to play backgammon with you directly;” and he straightway fetched the board from its corner, and laid it on the table before her.
“You know, Hunt, how shamefully he has been behaving, and I appeal to you to say whether it is not barefacedness to come in and treat us as though nothing had occurred,” appealed the mother.
The us was chosen because at the time Johnnie had gone to his father with the guitar, placing it in his hand and remarking, as he put his arms round the paternal shoulders: “Now, as we are too busy in the day to see one another, it’s more jolly that we should do so after work, so just you be a dear old papa, and now prove to Hunt what a splendid musician you are. Hunt used to practise the violin once, but his family didn’t like it, and he could not be annoying them in music and painting, too, so he gave up his fiddling; but he’s very fond of music. You play that exquisite air out of Rigoletto!” And then turning to me he added, “There’s no one in England has such an erect back as he has;” while to him he railingly said, “You want pressing, like a shy young lady.”