“I enjoy it so much!” said Kate, pouring out the cream with liberal hand.
Liffie said nothing, but if the widest extension of her lips, and the exposing of her bright little teeth from ear to ear, meant anything, it meant that her sympathies were entirely with Kate.
The captain was helped to pudding in a soup plate, that being relatively a rather small dessert plate for him. He was about to plunge the dessert spoon into it, but stopped suddenly and gazed at it. Then he turned his awful gaze on the small servant who almost shrank before it.
“Liffie, my dear.”
“Y–yes, sir.”
“Bring me a table-spoon, the biggest one you have.”
“Yes, sir,” she said,—and vanished. Presently she returned with an enormous gravy spoon.
“Ha! ha!” shouted the captain, with much of his old fire; “that’s better than I had hoped for! Hand it here, Liffie; it’ll do.”
He seized the weapon, and Liffie uttered an involuntary squeal of delight as she saw him sweep up nearly the whole of his first helping, and make one bite of it! He then attempted to smile at Liffie’s expression of joy, but did it awkwardly in the circumstances.
Just as he had finished his little repast, and was tranquilly stirring a breakfast cup of coffee, the door bell rang.