Maggie walked on in front with Constance. Hammond fell to
Priscilla's share.
"I am delighted to see you again," she said in her eager, agitated,
abrupt way.
"Are you?" he replied in some astonishment. Then he hastened to say
something polite. "I forgot, we had not ended our discussion. You
almost convinced me with regard to the superior merits of the Odyssey,
but not quite. Shall we renew the subject now?"
"No, please don't. That's not why I'm glad to see you. It's for
something quite, quite different. I want to say something to you, and
it's most important. Can't we just keep back a little from the others?
I don't want Maggie to hear."
Now why were Miss Oliphant's ears so sharp that afternoon? Why, even
in the midst of her gay chatter to Constance, did she hear every word
of Priscilla's queer, garbled speech? And why did astonishment and
even anger steal into her heart?
What she did, however, was to gratify Prissie immensely by hurrying on
with her companion, so that she and Hammond were left comfortably in
the background.
"I don't quite know what you mean," he said stiffly. "What can you
possibly have of importance to say to me?"
"I don't want Maggie to hear," repeated Prissie in her earnest voice.
She knew far too little of the world to be in the least alarmed at
Hammond's stately tones.
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