"My dear, please"--Mrs. Ralston spoke very earnestly--"do not imagine
for an instant that having that poor girl to care for will make the
smallest difference to my friendship for you! I hope to see as much of
you and little Tessa as I have ever seen. I feel that Stella would be
fond of children. Your little one would be a comfort to any sore heart."

"She can be a positive little devil," observed Tessa's mother
dispassionately. "But it's better than being a saint, isn't it? Look at
that hateful child, Cedric Burton--detestable little ape! That Burton
complacency gets on my nerves, especially in a child. But then look at
the Burtons! How could they help having horrible little self-opinionated
apes for children?"

"My dear, your tongue--your tongue!" protested Mrs. Ralston.

Mrs. Ermsted shot it out and in again with an impudent smile. "Well,
what's the matter with it? It's quite a candid one--like your own. A
little more pointed perhaps and something venomous upon occasion. But it
has its good qualities also. At least it is never insincere."

"Of that I am sure." Mrs. Ralston spoke with ready kindliness. "But, oh,
my dear, if it were only a little more charitable!"

Netta Ermsted smiled at her like a wayward child. "I like saying nasty
things about people," she said. "It amuses me. Besides, they're nearly
always true. Do tell me what you think of that latest hat erection of
Lady Harriet's! I never saw her look more aristocratically hideous in my
life than she looked at the Rajah's garden-party yesterday. I felt quite
sorry for the Rajah, for he's a nice boy notwithstanding his forty
wives, and he likes pretty things." She gave a little laugh, and