can't."

"Then I'll have tea to start with and see how I get on," said Mr.
Ridding, sitting down in the chair Anna-Felicitas held for him and
beaming up at her.

She flicked an imaginary grain of dust off the cloth with the corner of
her apron to convey to him that she knew her business, and hurried away
to give the order. Indeed, they both hurried away to give the order.

"Say--" called out Mr. Ridding, for he thought one Anna would have been
enough for this and he was pining to talk to them; but the twins weren't
to be stopped from both giving the very first order, and they
disappeared together into the pantry.

Mrs. Bilton sat in the farthest corner at her desk, apparently absorbed
in an enormous ledger. In this ledger she was to keep accounts and to
enter the number of teas, and from this high seat she was to preside
over the activities of the _personnel_. She had retired hastily to it on
the unexpected entrance of Mr. Ridding, and pen in hand was endeavouring
to look as if she were totting up figures. As the pages were blank this
was a little difficult. And it was difficult to sit there quiet. She
wanted to get down and go and chat with the guest; she felt she had
quite a good deal she could say to him; she had a great itch to go and
talk, but Mr. Twist had been particular that to begin with, till the room
was fairly full, he and she should leave the guests entirely to the
Annas.

He himself was going to keep much in the background at all times, but
through the half-open door of his office he could see and hear; and he
couldn't help thinking, as he sat there watching and observed the
effulgence of the beams the old gentleman just arrived turned on the
twins, that the first guest appeared to be extraordinarily and
undesirably affectionate. He thought he had seen him at the
Cosmopolitan, but wasn't sure. He didn't know that the Annas, after
their conversation with him there, felt towards him as old friends, and
he considered their manner was a little unduly familiar. Perhaps, after
all, he thought uneasily, Mrs. Bilton had better do the waiting and the
Annas sit with him in the office. The ledger could be written up at the
end of the day. Or he could hire somebody....

Mr. Twist felt worried, and pulled at his ear. And why was there only
one guest? It was twenty minutes to five; and this time yesterday the
road had been choked with cars. He felt very much worried. With every
minute this absence of guests grew