Verner to him. "It is tea-time now."
"I'll take tea and dinner together," was his answer.
"But you ought to have been in before," she persisted; for, though an
easy mistress and mother, Mrs. Verner did not like the order of meals to
be displaced. "Where have you stayed, Fred? You have not been all this
while taking Sibylla West to Bitterworth's."
"You must talk to Sibylla West about that," answered Fred. "When young
ladies keep you a good hour waiting, while they make themselves ready to
start, you can't get back precisely to your own time."
"What did she keep you waiting for?" questioned Mrs. Verner.
"Some mystery of the toilette, I conclude. When I got there, Amilly said
Sibylla was dressing; and a pretty prolonged dressing it appeared to be!
Since I left her at Bitterworth's, I have been to Poynton's about my
mare. She was as lame as ever to-day."
"And there's Rachel out now, just as I am wanting her!" went on Mrs.
Verner, who, when she did lapse into a grumbling mood, was fond of
calling up a catalogue of grievances.
"At any rate, that's not my fault, mother," observed Frederick.
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