"I thought you had gone to town?" she said.
[Sidenote: Mr. Lawrence's Mistake]
"Providentially, no," he said, so gravely that she looked surprised. "Do
you remember Addiscombe Graham, dear?"
"Has anything happened to him?" said Mrs. Lawrence. "I have just been
reading about him in the paper; all his life-saving appliances have had
gold medals at the exhibition. What is it, Edward? Of course, I know you
are a friend of his."
"A Judas sort of friend," said Mr. Lawrence. "Do you know what I've
done? I've nearly landed him in the Bankruptcy Court. Pemberton told me
a few weeks ago he had promised to give him some spare cash that would
be loose at the end of the year, and I persuaded him to put it in
something else. I said, 'Graham doesn't want it, he's simply _coining_
over his inventions,' and I thought it too. Now it appears he was
_counting_ on that money to pull him through the expenses."
The tall girl took Dorothy upstairs to a beautiful bathroom, got her
warm water, and asked if she would like a maid to do her hair.
After a little while she came for her again and took her into a very
pretty room, where there was a dainty little table laid for breakfast.
"When you have finished," she said, "just lie on the sofa and rest. I am
sorry I can't stay with you, but I must go and feed the peacocks."
[Illustration: HER HOSTESS HAD BEEN FEEDING THE PEACOCKS.]
Dorothy took a little toast and tea, but she did not feel so very hungry
after all, and for a time was quite glad to lie down on the couch.
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