“The princess!” echoed Helen. “Whatever do you mean, dear? I am not a princess,” and Randy hastened to explain. She told all about the fairy book, and how on Sunday in church little Prue had felt sure that Miss Dayton was the princess of the fairy tales.
“Well, of all things!” said Helen; “now I must assure you, little one, that I am not a princess, only Helen Dayton of Boston.”
“But you look like one,” persisted the child, looking at her with round, admiring eyes. Mrs. Weston had slipped from the room, while the children entertained their visitor, and as she bustled about the kitchen, doing many things, she murmured softly to herself, “Randy’s right, the girl is lovely.”
A pretty picture they made—the young girl and the two children—as they sat in the best room, chatting now like old acquaintances. Helen had taken little Prue upon her lap, where she sat looking admiringly up into that young lady’s face, while Randy sat beside her on the floor, telling her all her small confidences.
“Randy’s such a homely name,” she was saying. “’Tain’t so bad as Jerushy, but it’s homely enough.”
“But that isn’t the whole name, is it? Isn’t it ‘Miranda’?” asked Helen.
“Why, yes,” said Randy, “and it sounds almost fine when you say it; but, generally, it’s just Randy. And there’s Prue. Her name is Prudence, after Aunt Prudence.”
“Who’s just horrid,” said Prue, so vehemently that Helen and Randy laughed. After a pause Randy asked, abruptly, “If you belong in Boston, how could you come here to board; Boston’s a city, my geography says so, and this is just country.”
“That is just why I came here,” said Helen. “The spring found me very tired, after a long, gay winter, and I came here to be quiet, and get rested.”
“How funny!” said Randy. “I was wishing and wishing the other day that it wasn’t always so quiet here, and the other night when father was talking to Jason Meade about buying the big piece of meadow land, Mr. Meade was saying that he was going to Boston for a spell—he’s been there once—and he told about the streets full of people, and cars running all day, and teams and everything; and I did wish things would fly around here awhile.”