&ldquo;Joan! It&rsquo;s too marvellous for words! Do you really mean you&rsquo;d have me?&rdquo; Jen, just arrived at school for the summer term, pushed back her yellow plaits and gazed up at the May Queen with wondering eyes. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just terribly good of you, Joan!&rdquo;<br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid it isn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Joan said, laughing. &ldquo;To be quite honest, Jenny-Wren, I&rsquo;m thinking about myself as well as you. I really want you, so it isn&rsquo;t good of me at all.&rdquo;<br />&ldquo;Oh, but that makes it perfect! I&rsquo;ll just love to be your maid! I thought you&rsquo;d want somebody much older, now that Muriel&rsquo;s the new Queen; she was in your form and she did everything with you. I&rsquo;m such a kid; I&rsquo;ll be no use to you.&rdquo;<br />&ldquo;Fourteen isn&rsquo;t such a kid as all that,&rdquo; Joan said. &ldquo;I shall expect a lot from you. I shall make use of you in all sorts of ways.&rdquo;