"You are just the same as ever, I can see, Mawiquita," she said slowly, "not changed a bit. I'm so glad you have come home, for I want to speak to you about--oh, lots of things! You don't know how often I have thought of you, and said to myself, `I'll ask Peggy! I'll see what Peggy says!' I've never had a girl fwiend that I cared for so much as you, and I knew you would say just what you thought, however disagweeable it might be. I think it's vewy bwave to say disagweeable things, because even if people take your advice, they are always cwoss with you for giving it. I like people to like me, so I find out what they want to do, and tell them it is the vewy wisest plan, and they go away more pleased with me than ever; but I knew you wouldn't do that, unless you were vewy much changed. I wanted you to be the same, Peggy, and I heard some things about you lately which set my mind at rest on that point. You still use big words, I hear, and are vewy, vewy dignified when any one ventures to contwadict you, but not too dignified to pass your neighbour salt instead of sugar, or to pretend to arrange a fwiend's sash, and then tie it in such a way that the poor thing dwagged her chair with her when she twied to rise. Not too dignified to play your old twicks still, Peggy Saville." "Who has been telling tales about me?" cried Peggy wrathfully. "A little bird, indeed! A great big bird, you mean. A big enough bird to have kept his own counsel. It's a poor thing, if one can't have a little innocent fun in mid-ocean without having it brought up in judgment against one in a London drawing-room. I'm disgusted with Hector! He might have kept silence out of gratitude, at least. I never took any liberties with him." "Perhaps he would have liked it better if you had," said Rosalind slyly, and her eyes looked into Peggy's with a meaning glance. "It's a good thing I am so fond of you, my dear, or I should have gwown pwetty tired of your name during the last few weeks. It was extraordinary how every conversation with Hector worked wound to Peggy Saville. We could not even ask him to take a second cup of tea without being told how many cups Peggy Saville drank, and what were her views about cweam and sugar. I used to time him by my watch, and see how long it would be before he managed to intwoduce the subject, and seven and a half minutes was the wecord. The average was five."