Lucy laughed. "My ideas would be almost as valuable as our parole man's. He is always telling Margaret what he thinks of the war. The other day I was out in the kitchen making fudge for Bob——Oh, dear," she interrupted herself, "it will be so stale when he gets it if he only goes for his mail every week or two!"
"But what were you going to say?" insisted Julia, as Lucy seemed to have subsided.
"Oh, only that I listened to Mat talking to Margaret in the pantry. He said, 'You see, it's this way. Either the Eye-talians will be able to stay where they are, or they will have to retreat.' I felt like telling him that maybe Margaret could have thought that out for herself, but she seemed quite impressed by it."
"Is she nice? Do you like her?" asked Julia. "I don't see her often the way I used to Elizabeth."
"Oh, she's nice," said Lucy. "She's kind of poky, and of course Father thinks Karl is the only person in the world who makes good coffee, but Margaret almost suits him. We do miss Elizabeth awfully, though. William simply can't get used to having her gone. He asked me yesterday if I thought Elizabeth would like Happy when she came back. He doesn't seem to get it through his head that she isn't coming back."
"She might, though, Lucy, when the war is over," suggested Marian.
"Yes—when," said Lucy without much enthusiasm, thinking of Bob.
"Have you any idea where they are now?" asked Julia, beginning to pile up her finished work.
"No, not a bit. Elizabeth said something to me the day she left about going to Sweden, but I don't really think she knew. Karl told Father they might go to Mexico. She sent William a post-card from Boston a few days after they left here."