Tinker turned his head and eyed his father with a trifle of distrust.
"She does dress well," he said gravely, "and I can't quite make it out.
Sometimes I think that her people must have lost their money, and she
bought her gowns before that happened. Sometimes I really think she's
only being a governess for fun."
"For fun?" said Sir Tancred. "But I thought her references were all
right. Yes; you told me she carried them about with her."
"Well, she has the nicest kind of face," said Tinker; and his own was
out of the common guileless.
"Oh! her face was her reference, was it?" said Sir Tancred quickly.
"You can forge references, but you can't forge a face," said Tinker
with the air of a philosopher.
Sir Tancred laughed gently. "My good Tinker," he said, "I look forward
to the day when you enter the diplomatic service. The diplomacy of
your country will be newer than ever. But don't be too sure that a
woman can't forge her face."
"There'd be a precious lot of forgery, if they could forge faces like
Dorothy's," said Tinker with conviction.
"You seem a perfect well of truth to-day," said Sir Tancred.
They were silent a while, gazing idly over the sea; then Tinker said,
"I'm beginning to think that Dorothy is rather mysterious, don't you
know.
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