any rate argued the point of the cleanliness of the mugs, had he dared;
but the saintly man possessed on occasions a heavy hand, and he also
wore boots which had very hard toes, and the lad realized from the
peremptory look in the butler's eyes that this was an occasion when both
hand and boot would serve to emphasize Master Busy's orders with
unpleasant force if he himself were at all slow to obey.

He tried to catch Charity's eye, but was made aware once more of the
eternal truth that women are perverse and fickle creatures, for she
would not look at him, and seemed absorbed in the rearrangement of her
kerchief.

With a deep sigh which should have spoken volumes to her adamantine
heart, Courage gathered all the mugs together by their handles, and
reluctantly marched out of the room once more.

Hymn-of-Praise Busy waited a moment or two until the clattering of the
pewter died away in the distance, then he edged a little closer to the
table whereat Mistress Charity seemed still very busy with the fruit,
and said haltingly:

"Didst thou really wish to go, mistress ... to leave thy fond, adoring
Hymn-of-Praise ... to go, mistress? ... and to break my heart?"

Charity's dainty head--with its tiny velvet cap edged with lawn which
hardly concealed sufficiently the wealth of her unruly brown hair--sank
meditatively upon her left shoulder.

"Lord, Master Busy," she said demurely, "how was a poor maid to know
that you meant it earnestly?"