“Mauve is my lucky colour,” she rattled on. “Everything I do in mauve turns out well. But perhaps you don’t believe in a superstition like that?”
Esther was rather bewildered.
“I’m not sure. I never thought about it,” she said hesitatingly. “But it’s a very pretty colour.”
Miss Mason dropped the cushion to the floor, and stooping picked Charlie up and deposited him on it.
“Doesn’t he look sweet?” she demanded. “And a black cat is lucky too, you know, so that’s a comfort.”
She went back to the teapot, made the tea, and poured out a cup for Esther.
“Is that chair comfy?––yes, lean back! What are you looking at? Oh, my photographs! Yes. I have got a lot, haven’t I? Lydia dusts them for me! Lydia’s a treasure! You’ll love her. When I get married she’s going to leave here and come with me–––”
Esther looked interested.
“Are you going to be married?” she asked.
Miss Mason laughed.