But I'm a friendly pusson and not
'ard on a good-lookin' gal, not that you are what I call
'andsome."
Susan seated beside the table, looked weary and forlorn, and
the good-natured heart of the cook was touched, especially
when Susan requested her to refrain from the stiff name of
Miss Grant.
"You an' me will be good friends, I've no doubt," said Emily,
"an' you can call me Mrs. Pill, that being the name of my late
'usband, who died of gin in excess. The other servants is
housemaid and page, though to be sure he's more of a
man-of-all-work, being forty if he's a day, and likewise
coachman, when he drives out Miss Loach in her donkey
carriage. Thomas is his name, my love." The cook was rapidly
becoming more and more friendly, "and the housemaid is called
Geraldine, for which 'eaven forgives her parents, she bein'
spotty and un'ealthy and by no means a Bow-Bell's 'eroine,
which 'er name makes you think of. But there's a dear, I'm
talking brilliant, when you're dying for a cup of tea, and
need to get your box unpacked, by which I mean that I sees the
porter with the barrer."
The newly-arrived parlor-maid was pleased by this friendly if
ungrammatical reception, and thought she would like the cook
in spite of her somewhat tiresome tongue. For the next hour
she was unpacking her box and arranging a pleasant little room
at the back. She shared this with the spotty Geraldine, who
seemed to be a good-natured girl.
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