“It’s all spite and jealousy,” said Mrs. Gregg, “and Mary Ellen will look perfectly hideous.”
“Mary Ellen,” said Dr. O’Grady, “have you made up your mind yet which of those two dresses you’d like?”
“She’d like the white muslin, of course,” said Mrs. Gregg. “No girl would choose——”
“I’d like the both of them,” said Mary Ellen.
“You shall have them,” said Dr. O’Grady. “That’s the best way I see out of the difficulty. Mrs. Gregg, you get the dress you want for her, privately, without saying a word about it. Agree with everything Mrs. Ford says, and let her order a red flannel petticoat if she likes.”
“But which will she wear?” said Mrs. Gregg, “for if she’s to be dressed in a ridiculous stuffy grey tweed——”
“She’ll wear your one, of course,” said Dr. O’Grady. “She’ll put it on and stand in the middle of the square just underneath the statue. There’ll be a large crowd of people, and it will be too late for Mrs. Ford to do anything. She can’t change the girl’s clothes in the street.”
“Don’t count on any delicacy of feeling in Mrs. Ford,” said the Major.
“And will I have the both of the dresses after?” said Mary Ellen.
“You will,” said Dr. O’Grady, “unless Mrs. Ford manages to drag the grey tweed one away from you.”
“She may be as furious as she likes then,” said Dr. O’Grady. “She won’t be able to show it while the Lord-Lieutenant’s wife is shaking hands with her out of the motor-car, and it won’t matter to us what she does afterwards. The only thing we have to be careful about is to keep her in a good temper——”
“In as good a temper as possible between this and then. And now, Mrs. Gregg, if you’ll excuse my saying so, I think you and Mary Ellen had better trot off to the dressmaker. If any further difficulty arises refer to me at once. But I don’t see how anything can. All you’ve got to do is to let Mrs. Ford have her own way, and give your orders when she’s gone home.”
Mrs. Gregg did not seem entirely satisfied with this settlement of her difficulty, but she and Mary Ellen went off together to meet Mrs. Ford at the dressmaker’s.
“Women,” said Dr. O’Grady, “are the devil.”
He was not much better satisfied than Mrs. Gregg was with his new plan. He foresaw very serious difficulties in carrying it out.