her employment behind the counter at Messrs Wicklett & Sharp’s shop in the High Street,” objected Mr. Poskett. “She comes ’ome for dinner, and goes back again to the shop in the afternoon.”

There was another pause, and then Mr. Clark regretfully admitted that it seemed to him something was wrong somewhere, but he could not quite tell where it p. 32was. He respectfully intimated that he might understand better were Mr. Poskett to be more explicit in information.

p. 32

“My niece,” said Mr. Poskett, complying. “She’s been and got herself engaged!”

“Tut-tut!” murmured Mr. Clark, politely shocked.

“She has! Without my permission! She never even asked me!” complained Mr. Poskett. “Not that I should have given it, mark you, if she had asked! What right has she to go and get herself engaged when she is needed at home?”

“Ah, what right, indeed?” asked Mr. Clark, with indignation.

“Where’s ’er gratitude to me and ’er loving aunt, who have brought ’er up since she was eleven?” demanded Mr. Poskett. “Is it not ’er duty to tarry with us while we ’ave need of ’er? We cannot spare ’er, for she is too useful. I grant that she ’as done ’er fair share of work in the past, but that ain’t any reason why she should seek to avoid it in the future, is it?”

“Certainly not!” stated Mr. Clark.

“She’s got a earthly ’ome where she’s well looked after and kept up to the mark,” declared Mr. Poskett, his voice taking a high-pitched monotone. “Do we not know ’oo it is that lays in wait to find work for idle ’ands? Work and plenty of it is the only right way to bring up a young female. Idleness of body leads to idleness of thought, my friends, and—”

Mr. Dobb emitted a cough with a long, droning tail to it, and this served its purpose in restoring Mr. Poskett to more natural speech.

“Anyway,” he said, “when Nancy ain’t at the shop, we does our best to keep ’er time properly hemployed for ’er. As I say, it’s the only right way to bring young p. 33females up, and Nancy will admit one day, when me and my wife ’ave passed away to our reward, that she was very well brought up indeed! Tidy up the ’ouse, and off to the shop; dinner, wash-up, back to the shop again; ’ome again, bit more tidying up, and then bed,” he sketched. “Now, ain’t that a model life for a young female? What more can a right-minded girl 

 Prev. P 27/175 next