Mrs Darwen smiled again, then sighed. "His father was the same," she said.
Carstairs changed the subject. "What do you think of your maid, Mrs Darwen?"
"She's superbly handsome."
"Yes, she's improved. She knows it too, I think."
"She'd be a fool if she didn't; the postman, the butcher's boy, the milkman and all the lot are simply wild about her."
Carstairs frowned unconsciously.
"But she takes no notice of them. I sit and watch them at this window. It's very amusing. They try all their time-honoured wiles, whistling and winking, etc. She quells them easily. The butcher boy blushed as red as a piece of his own beef. She's got quite the drawing-room manner."
"Why did she leave Lady Cleeve's, do you know?"
"She gave no explanation, simply that she wanted to leave. She has exceptional characters."
Carstairs frowned again. "Dash it! It does jar on one."