"Umph;" grunted the frump, seated on the curve between us. "I verily believe Francis would go to anything!"
I scowled--couldn't help it, dash it! And Frances saw, and ducked her head, biting her lip and blushing. I could have choked the frump for so embarrassing her!
Yet the woman _did_ try to be pleasant to me.
"Did you ever find a pearl in an oyster, Mr. Lightnut?" she asked.
"By Jove, no!" I said, staring at her for the fool question. For _who_ could ever lose a pearl in a jolly oyster, don't you know? And yet, the next instant:
"_I_ have!" said my darling, glancing up at me the oddest way.
"Have you, Frances?"--the frump faced her interestedly. "You should examine with a microscope the interstratifications of calcareous matter and animal membrane."
"I _am_ examining it," she said gravely, "and microscopically. Probably shall this afternoon."
But she _didn't_! No, by Jove, we were together almost all the afternoon, though we never could get away from the frump--dash it, she just took charge of us. And it was the same again in the evening. By Jove, it was disgusting--really, that's the only word to use--the way that woman assumed toward everybody the air of expect-to-be-mistress-here-some-day-and-might-as-well-begin-now!
Once she did break away from us for fifteen minutes while she went up to see how Jack was. She came back much relieved.
"He was _so_ glad to see me," she said, "and he kissed me twice. We had such an interesting discussion about the _amoeba_."
"The _amoeba_--tiny animalcules, don't you know, that have the power of changing their form and appearance. Jacky thinks that perhaps man, too, in the process of time and evolution might scientifically acquire this--"
"How silly!" laughed my darling. And I thought so too. Of course if a man looked like himself once, he would _always_ look like himself. Any fool knew that!
Later, the judge came to my room, accompanied by Wilkes with some Heidelberg punch, _frappé_.
"Couldn't leave you out of this," he said genially; "besides, wanted to toast your first night under the roof of Wolhurst!
"Hope they're making you comfortable," he went on. "Infernal shame, Lightnut, that I've had to neglect you so; so absurdly busy, you know--_you_ understand?"