'Oh dear, no--not at all, not at all,' said Bruce, who was really much
annoyed at her unpunctuality. 'Of course, if you'd been a minute later I
shouldn't have had the pleasure of seeing you at all before I went to
the office--that's all. And what does that matter? Good heavens,
_that's_ of no importance! Good gracious, this is Liberty Hall, I
hope--isn't it? I should be very sorry for my guests to feel tied in any
way--bound to be down at any particular time. Will you have some coffee?
Edith, give Madame Frabelle a cup of coffee. Late? Oh dear, no;
certainly not!' He gave a short, ironical laugh.
'Well, I think I'm generally fairly punctual,' said Madame Frabelle,
beginning her breakfast without appearing to feel this sarcasm. 'What
made me late this morning was that Archie and Dilly came into my room
and asked me to settle a kind of dispute they were having.'
'They regard you quite as a magistrate,' said Edith. 'But it was too bad
of them to come and bother you so early.'
'Oh no. Not at all. I assure you I enjoy it. And, besides, a boy with
Archie's musical talents is bound to have the artistic temperament, you
know, and--well--of course, we all know what that leads to--excitement;
and finally a quarrel sometimes.
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