‘I’m fair worried about Miss Marryun,’ she began.

I looked up with a start.  ‘What on earth do you mean?’

’Well, you see, the Signs are against ’er.  They’ve bin against ’er for days.  Yesterday I see ‘er sneeze three times to the left, an’ that’s bad.  Then when she put her right shoe on ’er wrong foot by accident, I felt somethin’ was comin’.  But after I found two triangles an’ a mouse in ‘er cup to-day I knew——­’

[Illustration:  A Bad Sign.]

‘A mouse in her cup!’ I marvelled.

‘Fortune tellin’ by tea-leaves, ’m.  Well, a mouse is a Bad Sign.  It’s my belief that she won’t get no propogal this evenin’.’

I looked at Elizabeth sternly.  I do not wish to insinuate for one moment that she is in the habit of listening at doors, but she certainly gains an insight into our private lives that is nothing short of uncanny.

‘I just been lookin’ at the cards,’ she continued, ‘an’ they say as plain as can be that Mr.  ’Arbinger isn’t the one.  ’E’s the wrong colour.’

‘And what colour do you expect him to be?’ I demanded.

‘’Im bein’ fair takes King o’ Dimonds.  Well, Queen o’ Clubs—­that’s Miss Marryun—­is seven cards removed from ‘im and the three o’ spades comin’ between spells disappointment.  But, as I ses to ’er quite recent, I ses, “If you want to see your true love aright go into the garding by pale moonlight, walk in a circle, and say,—­

    “If I my true love now would see——­“’

‘Elizabeth,’ I broke in, ’don’t forget to grill master’s bloaters for breakfast.’  In this way do I recall her and remind her of her duty when she ignores the chasms of caste and class distinction which yawn between us.

’Grilled, ‘m?  Right-o.  Well, as I was sayin’ about Miss Marryun.  She’s gotta ring in ’er fortune and she will get married, but it will be to a dark man who’ll cross water to meet her.  She’s like me.  She isn’t fated to meet the right one yet.’

This was a subtle reference to her own chaotic love affairs.  Elizabeth never has any lack of young men.’  But they are like ships that pass in the night (her night out as a rule), and one by one they drift off, never stopping to cast anchor in her vicinity.  You know what I mean.  Elizabeth can’t keep her young men.  They seem attracted to her at first, but, as I say, after a very short time they drift.

‘We shall see wot we shall see,’ went on Elizabeth, ’there aint no knowin’ an’ there aint no tellin’.  But wot I ses is, if this ’ere propogal don’t come orf this evenin’, I gotta plan.  Of course, one marries accordin’ to Fate, but sometimes it doesn’t do no ’arm to give Fate an ‘elpin’ ‘and, like.’

Nodding darkly, she melted out.  I did not at the time attach any significance to her final words.  How was I to guess at those schemes which were even then fermenting in her mind and ended by involving not only Marion and Another, but the entire family?