'I have invited somebody to come and make your holiday pass pleasantly,' Mrs. Dallas said at last, beginning far away from the burden of her thoughts.
'Somebody?—whom?' asked Pitt a little eagerly, but without changing his attitude.
'Miss Betty Frere.'
'Who is she, that she should put her hand on my holiday? I do not want any hands but yours, mother. How often I have wanted them!'
'But Miss Frere will make your time pass more pleasantly, my boy. Miss Frere is one of the most admired women who have appeared in Washington this year. She is a sort of cousin of your father's, too; distant, but enough to make a connection. You will see for yourself what she is.'
'Where did you find her out?'
'In Washington, last winter.'
'And she is coming?'
'She said she would come. I asked her to come and help me make the time pass pleasantly for you.'
'Which means, that I must help you make the time pass pleasantly for her.'