"Then she is as insipid as milk and water—as insipid as you are, old Madame Grumpy. And papa—he's big and loud-voiced, and red-faced and jolly, I suppose?"
"Miss Rose Danton, be a little more respectful, if you want me to answer your questions."
"Well, but isn't he? And Mr. Richards—who's Mr. Richards?"
"I don't know."
"Isn't he here?"
"Yes, certainly."
"Then why don't you know?"
"Because I have not, like Rose Danton, a bump of inquisitiveness as large as a turnip."
"Now, Grace, don't be hateful. Tell me all you know about Mr. Richards."
"And that is nothing. I have never even seen him. He is an invalid; he keeps his rooms, night and day. His meals are carried upland no one sees him but your father, and sister, and Ogden."