"Denis may come with us now, mayn't he, Mr. Tellbridge? You see, he
couldn't do any work now, possibly."
"Pennington will do my share, when he comes in," observed Denis, easily.
Nell looked at the bank manager, gave a little laugh.
"We're being awfully rude," she said. "I will try to explain."
She did try. She tried to speak soberly, plainly, but her words sang,
jostled each other, grew picturesquely extravagant.
Mr. Tellbridge's mild disapproval was not proof against her eloquence.
He professed himself delighted at the good news. He gave Denis a
half-holiday, his benignity tempered by a drily expressed suggestion
that the work would not suffer much from his absence.
They went straight to Gowan Square, found Ted in, and dragged him off to
lunch.
At No. 35 Henley Road, boiled mutton and a bread-and-butter pudding
awaited them in vain. At the Express Dairy in Oxford Street four
perfectly happy people lunched that day. Ted was quieter. He seemed to
derive a certain amount of satisfaction from watching and teasing Sheila
Pat. Sheila Pat was very Irish, her sharp little tongue very quick, and
very broadly accented. She was never at a loss for a repartee. Her
great eyes fairly glittered with excitement; a faint pink flush glowed
on either cheek; her pig-tail, owing to constant rude tweaks, stuck out
at an aggressive angle. Halfway through lunch, Ted said:--
"And now, suppose some one explains what it's all about."
"Explain!"
"One at a time, please. Oh, not just yet, perhaps. I thought I'd given
you time for the effervescence to have subsided a little--"
"Time? An hour or so?" laughed Nell. "Why, we shall go on effervescing
like ginger beer for the whole of the next fortnight!"
He sighed.
"I wonder if Miss Kezia's effervescing, too! Why do you laugh? I'm
thinking of applying to her for an explanation of your state."
Nell bent toward him.
"Ask," she said softly; "after all, it's you--you--you--who did it all!
Oh, Ted, dad says he had had an offer for the shares, and had just
decided to sell out when he received the cablegram!"
"How'll they be home in a fortnight?" he put in quickly, warding off her
gratitude. "Question No. 1."
"Why, mother's quite strong and well now, so she doesn't need the long
sea voyage, by sailing vessel now, you see!"
"But I thought the passage was booked--"
"Dad managed to exchange on to a P.&O. boat."
"Ah, now I begin to understand."
"Time you did," Denis remarked. "Your skull must be a foot thick."
It was later, up in the Stronghold, that Nell drew near to Ted.
"Mother and dad are so surprised and inquisitive," she began. "They
can't think _how_ we knew about those shares, you see." She paused.
"If it hadn't been for you, dad would have sold out--I don't understand
a bit--but he says it would have been for quite a little, we--we
couldn't have gone back to Kilbrannan."
There was a little pause.
Denis strolled up to them.
"Ted," Nell said, "you will spend all your vacations with us, won't you?
Except just a week here and there for other people--won't you?"
He laughed uncomfortably.
"I know I've been pretty good at poking myself in here--" he began.
"_Teddie_!" Nell ejaculated.
"Don't be such a fool!" Denis exclaimed angrily.
"Well, anyhow, your people--"
"Will be delighted if you'll make Kilbrannan another home," finished
Denis, proudly.
Nell held her letter out to him.
"It's true, Teddie. Read what mother says about you. She knows all
about you. There--at the top of the page."