"Then I don't know what you are talking about," said Nan. "Mrs. Bobs, you are a dear to want us to have such good times, and to put us into those you have for the grown folks. I just wish we could always have you this near to us. But dear me, Mary Lee, we must go. We told mother we wouldn't stay long, and it is most dinner time. No, Mrs. Bobs, we really can't stay this time, thank you. Does mother know about the tea?"
"Yes, but I asked her to let me have the pleasure of telling you about it. You accept my invitation, don't you?"
Nan laughed gleefully. "Accept! I should think so. We'll be the faithfullest waitresses you ever saw."
"I don't want you to be too energetic, for I want you to have a good time as well as the rest of us. Must you go? Well, good-bye for a while."
"What did you mean about the frocks, Mary Lee?" asked Nan, as soon as the two were out the gate.
"I didn't mean ours; I was thinking of the señorita. I don't believe she has a blessed thing to wear."
"She must have had some nice things before her aunt died and they lost all their money," said Nan. "I wonder if everything is worn out."
"I am afraid so, all except some laces. Her aunt dressed very plainly, she told me, and she herself never had real frisky clothes, because she was at a convent school and wore plain things."
"Well, she's got to go," said Nan decidedly. "We'll have to do something about it, at least mother and Aunt Helen will have to. We'll talk to them when we get a chance. Aren't you excited at being asked to a real grown-up thing like that? Won't it be lovely to see mother dressed up, too? You know she would never go to anything dressy because she couldn't afford it. I hope she'll have that gray crêpe made up; she promised that she would some day. We've never seen her in anything but black and white, and I know she'll look too sweet for words in gray."
"There's been so much else to think about out here that I've hardly thought of clothes, but it is rather fun to put our minds on them when we can have nice ones," said Mary Lee.