"Little girls must behave prettily to kind gentlemen who are
friends of their mammas. It is dreadful to be rude and not say
'thank you'," she said.
But as she talked she was vaguely aware that her words passed by
the child's ears as the summer wind passed. Perhaps it was all a
bit of temper and would disappear and leave no trace behind. At
the same time, there WAS something queer about the little thing.
She had a listless way of sitting staring out of the window and
seeming to have no desire to amuse herself. She was too young
to be listless and she did not care for her food. Dowson asked
permission to send for the doctor and, when he came, he ordered
sea air.
"Of course, you can take her away for a few weeks," Mrs. Gareth-Lawless
said. Here she smiled satirically and added, "But I can tell you
what it is all about. The little minx actually fell in love with
a small boy she met in the Square Gardens and, when his mother
took him from London, she began to mope like a tiresome girl in
her teens. It's ridiculous, but is the real trouble."
"Oh!" said Dowson, the low and respectful interjection expressing
a shade of disapproval, "Children do have fancies, ma'am. She'll
get over it if we give her something else to think of."
The good woman went to one of the large toy shops and bought a
beautiful doll, a doll's house, and some picture books.
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