“Fat, are you, little one?” broke in Mr. Stewart; “not much of that, I fear; let me look at you. She does seem considerably better,” he added, addressing Mrs. Dudley. “You will take her to see Mr. Henry, though, will you not?”
Heather answered that she certainly should, whereupon Lally insisted on knowing exactly who Mr. Henry was, and being informed a doctor, declared she would rather not see him. “Other doctor gave me nasty stuff to drink, sour, and Lally did not like him.”
“Very ungrateful on your part,” remarked Lucy, “for Doctor Chickton was exceedingly kind to you.”
“Didn’t like him,” repeated the child, determinedly; “said sour stuff wasn’t bad to take, and it was dre’ful; said it would make Lally well, and it didn’t. He told ’tories, he did.”
“Are you glad you are going back to London?” inquired Mr. Stewart.
“No,” said Lally, “don’t like it either. I’d like to go home and see the chick-a-biddies, and Dash, and Nip and Nep, and the ponies, and Ned;” and so the child talked on, her eyes dancing with delight as she spoke of the old home any other little girl might almost have forgotten in the time, while Mr. Stewart looked thoughtfully in her face flushed with excitement, and wondered what value his friend, Mr. Rymner Henry, might set on her chances of life.
Mr. Croft delighted greatly in Lally. He encouraged her to be what her mamma called naughty, to chatter away at express speed, to tell him all about Berrie Down, and Aggy, and Laura, “and then there used to be Bessie, you know,” added the child. “Ah! Bessie was good to Lally. She singed to her, and dressed the beau-ful-lest dolls; but Lally will never see Bessie no more—no, never no more;” and the little face began to twitch, and the lips to tremble, and then the brown eyes filled with tears, and finally Lally lifted up her voice and wept.
“What is the matter?” inquired Mr. Stewart, who had been engaged in a conversation with Lucy. “What have you done, Douglas, to cause such grief?”
“I want to see Bessie,” sobbed the child.
“And who is it that is so cruel as to prevent your seeing her?” asked Mr. Stewart.