ng her grey suede shoes. "Me and my
cousin have fixed that up."

"Have you?" I said, delightedly glancing up at her, and pausing with one
of her small but dumpy feet in my hand. "Have you really settled it with
Mr. Jessop? Oh, I am so glad! I hope," here I gave an affectionate
little squeeze to that grey, silk-sheathed foot, "I do hope you'll be
very happy."

"Well, he will, that's pretty certain," said Miss Million in her most
matter-of-fact tone of voice; "but whether I will is another matter.

"All depends upon whether this here bomb-dropper turns out a good
investment or a wild-goose chase. 'Twouldn't surprise me a bit if it did
that. Still! He's been talking to me again about it this afternoon,
explaining it all while we sat on two green wooden chairs under the
trees on the grass, as grave as two judges. And I'm taking the chance."

"I think you're so right!" I said enthusiastically. "I'm quite sure he's
exactly the sort of husband for you----"

"Husbands?" echoed Miss Million, and gazed at me stonily. "Who's talking
of husbands?"

"Why----Aren't you?" I exclaimed, utterly taken aback. "Don't you
mean----When you said you'd fixed it up with Mr. Jessop didn't you mean
you'd said you'd marry him?"

"Ow! Now!" ejaculated Million in her Cockniest voice, vigorously shaking
her little dark head. "Marry him? Not much! When I said I'd fixed it up
I meant I was going to 'come in' with the money to float this here
invention of his. No going to Lawr at all. I shall just pay him over so
much.

"We'll get old Mr. Chesterton to arrange about that, and let him do the
best he can. We're goin' shares, and we're going to share profits in
what he makes over the thing--if anything. He seems to me just like a
boy we sor in Kensington Gardens when we was out; a boy with a model
yacht, mad with joy over the machinery of it, and the what-not!

"That's just like my cousin Hiram. Men are kids!" added Miss Million
with a profound smile.

I looked at her with surprise as I fetched her little indoor slippers.
"And you're giving him the money to play with this yacht of his?"

"Yes. He talked me round to that," said my mistress. "But talk me round
into marrying him into the bargain was a thing he couldn't do."

"Why not?" I ventured. "You like him. He's nice----"

"Yes. But marriage! Not for me," said Miss Million, again shaking her
dark head. "I've been thinking it well out, and that's what I've come
to. I'm better single. I've