"There
may be some quite good reason for Mr. Levendale's absence. He'd no trouble
of any sort, had he?"
"He seemed a bit upset, once or twice, yesterday--and the night before,"
said the butler. "I noticed it--in little things. Well!--I can't make it
out, sir. You see, I've been with him ever since he came back to England--
some years now--and I know his habits, thoroughly. However, we can only
wait--I believe Miss Bennett sent for you, Mr. Purdie?"
"Yes," said Purdie. "She did."
"This way, sir," said the butler. "Miss Bennett's alone, now--the children
have just gone out with their nurses."
He led Purdie through the house to a sitting-room looking out on the
garden of the Square, and ushered him into the governess's presence.
"I've told Mr. Purdie all about it, miss," he said, confidentially.
"Perhaps you'll talk it over with him! I can't think of anything more to
do--until we hear something."
Left alone, Purdie and Elsie Bennett looked at each other as they shook
hands. She was a fair, slender girl, naturally shy and retiring; she was
manifestly shy at renewing her acquaintance with Purdie, and Purdie
himself, conscious of his own feelings towards her, felt a certain
embarrassment and awkwardness.
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