"Would you consider me, Mr. Bingle, for the position that has just
been given up by the--the woman whose sister is ill?"
He heard, but he could not believe his ears. "I--I beg pardon?" he
said.
She faced him, now resolute and eager. "I am not a fairy princess, I
am not a witch. As a matter of fact, I am a very commonplace person
who is obliged to earn a living one way or another, and it isn't
always a simple thing to do. Tip to this instant, I hadn't the
remotest thought of becoming a governess. I don't know what came over
me unless it was loneliness, thinking of my little brothers and
sisters at home. When I first saw you and the children nothing was
farther from my mind than the thought that has just come into it. I DO
love children. I want work, Mr. Bingle. I am self-supporting. No
matter what may have been my ambition up to five minutes ago, I am
content to put it aside, I am willing to undertake--"
"My dear young lady," broke in Mr. Bingle, who had been slow to grasp
her meaning and even slower to recover from his stupefaction; "you--
you really have knocked me silly.
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