You'm keeping the young ladies in a draught. Miss Poppy wants to know if
you can stay and have some of her birthday tea. You'm welcome to if you
can."

Ephraim seemed able, and even glad, to stay. "I wanted to see Miss
Poppy," he said. "I've got something for her, as that there furrin chap
down to Edless was bringing along. I met un at the gate and told un I'd
take it in for him as I was coming in," and he laid a neat white parcel on
the table beside the astonished little maid.

"For me!" she cried, looking all round the table, wide-eyed with
excitement. "Are you _sure_ it's for me, Ephraim?" she asked, as she
began to undo the pretty ribbons which tied the parcel--rose-colour
ribbons like that in her hair. The excitement of all very nearly equalled
hers, and when she lifted out of the soft white paper a beautiful
silk-fringed sash of the same shade, they all shrieked with joy.

"The very, very, very thing I was wanting for you just now!" cried Esther.
"Oh, how lovely! It is from Mademoiselle. How kind and beautiful of
her."

Poppy handed the sash round for inspection, while she read the little note
enclosed.

"It is not poppy-colour, but will my dear little market-woman accept it
from a grateful customer with much love and every good wish for many happy
returns of the day?"

Their excitement was so great they could not eat another mouthful,
somewhat to Anna's relief, for she had really grown quite anxious lest
they should make themselves ill.

Ephraim's appetite almost rivalled theirs, but at last even he had done,
the table was cleared, and space made for games to begin. It was then
that Ephraim came out in a new and unexpected light, for if any one had
told Anna or the children that he could be a leading spirit in games and
jokes, and riddles and such-like, they would have refused to believe it;
but he proved it beyond all doubt or denial, for the next hour or two flew
by with shrieks of laughter and endless fun, and Ephraim was the leader of
it all.

"Anna," said Poppy, as she was being put to bed that night, "don't you
like Ephraim now better than you did?"

Anna refused to own to any such weakness, but she blushed a little as she
denied it.

"P'r'aps," said Angela, in a half-absent way as she brushed out her hair
in Poppy's room, "p'r'aps Anna likes him so much already she can't like
him better if she tries"; and Anna blushed as though Angela's chance shot
had reached home.

CHAPTER