A Lady of Quality Author:Frances Hodgson Burnett Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III Wberein Sir Jeoffry's Boon Companions Drink a Toast Her beauty of face, her fine body, her strength of limb and great growth for her age would hav... more »e pleased him if she had possessed no other attraction, but the daring of her fury and her stable-boy breeding so amused him and suited his roystering tastes that he took to her as to the finest plaything in the world. He set her on the floor, forgetting his coursing, and would have made friends with her, but at first she would have none of him, and scowled at him in spite of all he did. The brandy by this time had mounted to his head and put him in the mood for frolic, liquor oftenest making him gamesome. He felt as if he were playing with a young dog or marking the spirit of a little fighting-cock. He ordered the servants back to their kitchen, who stole away, the women amazed, and the men concealing grins which burst forth into guffaws of laughter when they came into their hall below. " Tis as we said," they chuckled. " He had but to see her beauty and find her a bigger devilthan himself, and 'twas done. The mettle of her —damning and flogging him ! Never was there a finer sight! She feared him no more than if he had been a spaniel. And he roaring and laughing till he was like to burst." " Dost know who I am ? " Sir Jeoffry was asking the child, grinning himself as he stood before her where she sat on the oaken settle on which he had lifted her. " No," quoth little Mistress, her black brows drawn down, her handsome owl's eyes verily seeming to look him through and through in search of somewhat, for, in sooth, her rage abating before his jovial humor, the big, burly laughter attracted her attention, though she was not disposed to show him that she leaned toward any favor or yielding. " I am thy dad," he sa...« less