He flattered her, and said he envied Lady Bassett to have
such a beautiful girl about her. "I'll let my hair grow," said he.
"Ay, do," said she, "and then I'll pull it for you."
This challenge ended in a little struggle for a kiss, the sincerity of
which was doubtful. Polly resisted vigorously, to be sure, but briefly,
and, having given in, returned it.
One day she told him Sir Charles had met her plump, and had given a
great start.
This made Bassett very uneasy. "Confound it, he will turn you away. He
will say, 'This girl knows too much.'"
"How simple you be!" said the girl. "D'ye think I let him know? Says
he, 'I think I have seen you before.' 'Yes, sir,' says I, 'I was
housemaid here before my lady had me to dress her.' 'No,' says he, 'I
mean in London--in Mayfair, you know.' I declare you might ha' knocked
me down wi' a feather. So I looks in his face, as cool as marble, and I
said, 'No, sir; I never had the luck to see London, sir,' says I. 'All
the better for you,' says he; and he swallowed it like spring water, as
sister Rhoda used to say when she told one and they believed it."
"You are a clever girl," said Bassett. "He would have turned you out of
the house if he had known who you were."
She disappointed him in one thing; she was bad at answering questions.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164