“I expect he’s having such a good time that he’ll stay for weeks,” she added. “I wish he would come back, I want him to get on with my business....”
“Mr. Mellowes....” announced Lydia at the door.
June scrambled to her feet with a scream of delight.
“Micky! you villain! we were just talking about you. When did you come back? Why haven’t you been before? What have you been doing?”
She dragged him over to the fire; she fussed over him and told him he was just in time for tea.
“Esther’s been indoors a week with a cold,” she explained. “No, don’t you get up, Esther. Micky won’t mind....” She pushed Esther back amongst the sofa pillows. “Poor darling! She’s really been quite ill,” she declared.
Micky said formally that he was sorry that she was not well, but that the weather was enough to kill anybody; he added that he had been in town since Sunday, but ...
“Four days, and you’ve not been to see me!” said June. “What a shame, to neglect us so!”
“I’ve been busy,” Micky defended himself; “I expected to hear you had gone to Mrs. Ashton’s,” he said to Esther.