“Oh, m’sieur,” laughed the governess, “Mademoiselle Bertha saw you arrive, and has sent me to ask a favour.”
“A favour!” he exclaimed. “Of course, I always grant the young lady’s requests when she asks nicely.”
“Mademoiselle wants to know if you will let her hear your watch. Since you showed it to her a fortnight ago she has allowed me no peace. So I promised I would come and ask of you.”
“Certainly,” was the millionaire’s reply, taking his repeater and the gold albert from his pocket. “You know how to make it strike. I showed you the other day,” he laughed as he handed it to her.
“I will be ve-ry careful of it, m’sieur, and will bring it back when mademoiselle is satisfied. She desires greatly one like it.”
“Some day I’ll give her one, when she’s older,” laughed Morgan-Mason good-humouredly.
And then, when the door had closed behind her, his sister remarked—
“Mademoiselle is most devoted to Bertha. So very different to Miss Gardener. She humours her in every way, and at the same time is a very good teacher. It is really wonderful how the child is improving.”
“I quite agree, Maud. She’s an excellent girl—and I hope you pay her well. She deserves it.”
And then they fell to discussing plans for a big dinner-party at the Carlton on the following Friday.