Esther looked down at Charlie sprawling in the firelight.
"What's going to become of Charlie?" she asked.
"Lydia will look after him," June said promptly. "She adores cats. That's one excuse surmounted. Any more?"
"Then that's settled. We'll stay a week if we're not bored to death. It's a desolate spot--just a handful of houses and a haystack and a few things like that, but if you like the country we ought to have a good time. I wish I'd got a car...."
"Isn't it rather a funny place to go to for business?" Esther asked innocently.
"Not in the least," June declared. "All the ingredients for my skin food came from the country--herbs and attar of flowers and all the rest of it. Besides"--she swallowed hard before uttering the biggest fib of all--"my agent lives down there, you see."
"Oh!" said Esther. She was rather pleased at the idea of a change.
"I suppose we can have letters sent on?" she asked after a moment.
June's scratching pen stopped for a moment; then flew on again faster than before.
Her kind heart gave a little throb of pity as she realised that there would never be any letters to send on--not any, at least, of which Esther was thinking.
She looked round at the girl pityingly. She looked so happy and unconscious sitting there in the firelight, and all the time if she knew what had just happened over in Paris her heart would surely break.
"I was only talking to the pen," June answered irascibly.
Micky turned up at Paddington the following morning laden with papers and chocolates.
"Any one would think we were going to the other side of the world," June told him. "Do you know, my good man, that it's only a couple of hours' run to Enmore?"
"Is it?" said Micky guilelessly. "Well, any way, I'm sure you won't be able to get De Bry's chocolates down there, so they'll come in useful." He looked at Esther. She was wearing the fur coat and a bunch of violets.
"I think it's awfully exciting," she said, meeting his eyes. "We never thought about going till quite late last night, did we, June?"
"Things done in a hurry are almost the most enjoyable," June answered sententiously. "I'm quite bucked at the idea of living the simple life for a few days."
"Pity you haven't got a car down there," Micky said. "There ought to be some fine runs round about."