Go on; go on. LILY. Well, ultimately Tedder took me and trained me-- did it for nix-- for what he hoped to get out of me in the future. Ah, and he _hasn't_ lost over me-- poor old Ambrose! He collared a third of my salary for ever so long; and now that the old chap's rheumaticky and worn out, I-- oh, it's not worth mentioning. [_Jumping up and walking away._] My stars, he could teach, could Tedder! I began by going to him for the last twenty minutes of my dinner-hour. He wanted to stop _that_, because it was bad for me, he said, to practise on a full-- a full--! Ha, ha, ha! On a _full_--! [_Behind the table, resting her two hands upon it and shaking with laughter._] Ho, ho, ho! As if I ever had-- in those days----! FARNCOMBE. [_Writhing._] Ah, don't-- don't----! LILY. [_Brushing the tears from her eyes._] I was a pupil of Tedder's for twelve months, and then he got me on at the Canterbury; and from the Canterbury I went to Gatti's, and from Gatti's to the Lane, for a few lines in the pantomime and an understudy-- my first appearance in the West End-- [_singing_] "Oh, the West End is the best end!"-- and from there I went to the old Strand, and there Morrie Cooling spotted me, and that led to me being engaged at the Pandora, where I ate my heart out, doing next to nothing, for two whole years. Then came the production of _The Duchess of Brixton_, and it was in _The Duchess_-- thanks to Vincent Bland-- that I sang the "Mind the Paint" song. He believed in me, did Vincent; _he_ saw I was fit for something more than just prancing about, and airing my ankles, in a gay frock. By Jupiter, how he fought for me; _how_ he fought for me, up to the final rehearsal! And to this day, whenever I indulge in a prayer, you bet Vincent Bland has a paragraph all to himself in it! [_Checking herself and coming to FARNCOMBE._] Oh, but-- I needn't inflict quite so much of my biography on you, need I? [_He rises._] Sorry. I merely wanted to tell you enough to show you-- to show you---- FARNCOMBE. [_Close to her, gazing into her eyes._] To show me what a-- what a _marvel_ you are! LILY. [_Pleased._] Ha, ha! Oh, I'm not chucking mud at myself really. Why should I! Many a woman 'ud feel as vain as a peacock in my shoes. Fancy! From the shop in Gladwin Street to-- [_with a gesture_] to _this_! And from Tedder's stuffy room in the Westminster Bridge Road to the stage of the Pandora, as principal girl! FARNCOMBE. [_Tenderly._] Wonderful! LILY. [_Carried away by her narration and putting her hands upon his shoulders familiarly._] Yes, and all the schooling I've ever had, Eddie, was at a cheap, frowsy day-school in Kennington, with a tribe of other common, skinny-legged brats. Imagine it! FARNCOMBE. [_Taking her hands._] I can't imagine it; I defy anybody to. LILY.