"Sarah," said Mr. Harland, sternly checking the disconcerted damsel as she was about to seek refuge with her colleagues in flight, "show these ladies into the drawing-room, and tell your mistress that I wish to speak to her in the study."
"What--what on earth, Maria, is the meaning of this?" demanded Mr. Harland, as his wife made her appearance in his sanctum.
The lady dropped into a chair.
"Thank goodness, Andrew, you have come home. I don't know what I should have done if I had been left alone with them much longer."
"Who are these women?"
"They're the Mrs. Bindons."
"The Mrs. Bindons! How many of them are there?"
"There were nine. The two you brought make eleven."
"Eleven! Eleven Mrs. Bindons! Maria!"
"Andrew!"