I was spared the trouble of answering, for Bessie seemed in too great a hurry to listen to explanations; she hauled me to the washstand, inflicted a merciless, but happily brief scrub on my face and hands with soap, water, and a coarse towel; disciplined my head with a bristly brush, denuded me of my pinafore, and then hurrying me to the top of the stairs, bid me go down directly, as I was wanted in the breakfast-room.
Mi condusse al lavabo e con l'acqua e il sapone mi lavò ben bene le mani e il viso. Per fortuna fece presto, poi mi pettinò, mi tolse il grembiule e, spingendomi verso la scala, mi ordinò di scender presto nella sala da pranzo, dove ero attesa.