Henrietta, there's a curl at the back of
your neck.'
'I know. It's always there.'
'I can't go on about the house unless you sit up.'
'Why?'
'Because of that curl.'
'And I'm not interested in the house.' She did not move. 'Whose is
it?'
'It belongs to a client of ours, but that doesn't matter. The point is
that it's to let. I've got an order to view. Look!--"_Please admit
Mr. Charles Batty._" I went this evening and we can both go to-morrow.
It's really a very cosy little house. There's a drawing-room opening
on the garden at the back, with plenty of room for a grand piano, and
the dining-room--I liked the dining-room very much. There was a fire
in it.'
'Is that unusual?'
'It looked so cosy, with a red carpet and everything.'
'Is the carpet to let, too?'
'I don't know. I dare say we could buy it. And mind you, Henrietta,
the kitchen is on the ground floor. That's unusual, if you like, in an
old house. I made sure of that before I went any further.'
'How far are you going?'
'We'll go everywhere to-morrow, even into the coal cellar. To-day I
just peeped.'
'I can imagine you. But what do you want a house for, Charles?'
'For you,' he said. 'You say you don't like spending the evenings
here--well, let's spend them in the little house. We can't go on being
engaged indefinitely.'
'Certainly not,' she said firmly, 'and I should adore a little house
of my own. I believe that's just what I want.
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