CHAPTER XII 100
" Yes."
He rubbed his forehead fretfully as he looked her over. " You are very thin," he said. " I am getting fatter," Mary answered in what she knew was her stiffest way.
What an unhappy face he had! His black eyes seemed as if they scarcely saw her, as if they were seeing something else, and he could hardly keep his thoughts upon her.
" I forgot you," he said. " How could I remember you? I intended to send you a governess or a nurse, or some one of that sort, but I forgot."
" Please," began Mary. " Please-- " and then the lump in her throat choked her.
" What do you want to say?" he inquired.
" I am--I am too big for a nurse," said Mary. " And please--please don ' t make me have a governess yet."
He rubbed his forehead again and stared at her. " That was what the Sowerby woman said," he muttered absent-mindedly. Then Mary gathered a scrap of courage. " Is she--is she Martha ' s mother?" she stammered. " Yes, I think so," he replied. " She knows about children," said Mary. " She has twelve. She knows." He seemed to rouse himself.