"I did. I was determined to do it. I gripped my crutch and was out of the carriage and up the steps before the footman could answer Maxwell. I hobbled past the man--he just gaped at me like a puddock on a hot day--and got to the foot of the stair and looked up. As I expected, there was Madam, hanging over the banisters to see what sort of a caller she had hooked the first time. There was another creature beside her, with wild brown hair and eyes like saucers. They were clutching each other round the waist. When they saw me they gave a kind of horrified yelp. But I cried to them to come down, and in ten minutes we were the best of friends. They were terribly prim at first; but when they found out that I was just a clavering old wife and nothing more, they lost their grand manners. They overlaid me with questions about London, and while I was answering them the saucer-eyed one set to work cracking lumps of sugar with her teeth. The other--her ladyship--was eating jam out of an Apostle spoon. The spoon was in her mouth when a footman came in to mend the fire. She was fairly taken by surprise, and tried to push the whole concern into her mouth until the man should be gone. I thought at first she had swallowed it, but presently I saw the Apostle sticking out. And that was three years ago. Well, I have become less active since then, and I pay no more calls--wheel me a piece nearer the fire, Johnny--so I do not see so much of her ladyship as I did. Still, I am glad to hear she is enjoying life. And how is the baby?" "The baby," replied its male parent, "looks and sounds extremely robust. He uttered several articulate words the other day, I am told." "Can he walk?" "He can lurch along in a slightly dissipated manner." "Good! And how does your Daphne handle all these houses and servants of yours?" Sir John smiled. "She was a little out of her depth at first," he said. "She had not been accustomed to cater for a large household. The extravagance of ordering at least one fresh joint a-day appalled her, and it was a long time before the housekeeper could cure her of a passion for shepherd's pie. But she has a shrewd head. She soon discovered which items of domestic expenditure were reasonable and which were not. She has cut down the bills by a half, but I don't notice any corresponding falling off in the quality of the _menu_." "And does she love fine clothes, and gaiety?" "I think she found her maid rather a trial at first. She had been so accustomed not only to attiring herself but to going round and hooking up her sisters as well, that a woman who handled her like a baby rather paralysed her. She also exhibited a _penchant_ for wearing her old clothes out--to rags, that is--in private. But I think she is getting over that now. I received her dressmaker's latest bill this morning. It reveals distinct signs of progress." "And I hear she looks just beautiful." "She does. I must admit that."