“Yes.”
“And remember not to knock it over when you get excited. Promise?”
“Um.”
“Very well.”
Mrs. Severance's even voice began to flow into the stillness.
“As I was getting too big for Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt—”
XXI
“And that's the end of the chapter.” Mrs. Severance's voice trailed off into silence. She closed the book with a soft sound. The man whom it might be rather more convenient than otherwise to call Mr. Severance opened his eyes. He had not been asleep, but he had found by a good deal of experience that he paid more attention to Dickens if he closed his eyes while she read.
“Thank you dear.”