Feverish hands caught and held her. "Goodness, child! How cold you are!"
exclaimed Violet. "Mrs. Briggs, I can do without you now. You had better
go and look after Briggs." She broke into a brief laugh. "He always gets
up to mischief as soon as your back is turned."

"He can very well look after 'imself," said Mrs. Briggs austerely. "And
I'm not a-goin' to leave you like this, my dearie. But I'll tell you
what I will do. I'll go down to the kitchen and make them lazy hussies
stir themselves and get you a meal of some sort."

In the days when Mrs. Briggs had been Violet's nurse she had reigned
supreme in the Priory kitchen, and she still regarded it as an outlying
portion of her dominions.

Violet leaned back upon her pillows with exhaustion written plainly on
her pale face. "Oh, do as you like, Nanny! But I don't want anything.
I've got my cigarettes."

Mrs. Briggs grunted, and turned to go. The patient Cork here seized the
opportunity to assert himself, and gently but firmly pressed into the
room.

"Drat the dog!" said Mrs. Briggs.

"Leave him alone!" Violet commanded. "He knows how to take care of me."

As Cork was fully determined to enter, no effort on Mrs. Briggs's part
would have availed to stop him, and Mrs. Briggs, realizing this, sniffed
and departed.