Edmund marched away with her. He was not at present at all in awe of Nurse. When he came back to the nursery, tea was ready. The children had plenty to talk about during the meal. Edmund's ideas were bold in the extreme. He hoped to ride one of the horses, and go out fishing, and shoot with the gamekeeper; he liked climbing trees, and intended to have "good sport."
Nurse laughed at him. He was so soft and chubby to look at, so very manly in his talk. Then he was told of Dreamikins.
"A pity she isn't a boy," he said; "but she can come and see my fireworks!"
After tea he got out a mechanical engine of his, and when he had set it going on the nursery floor, and tied Bertie's cart on to it with a load of bricks, the children were delighted. They played contentedly till bedtime, and Freda and Daffy began to think that it was very nice to have a boy to play with.
The next morning Edmund was down in the stables long before breakfast-time, and he persuaded the old coachman to put him on the back of one of the carriage horses, and trotted up and down the avenue on it, to the great admiration of his cousins, who watched him from the nursery windows. Then he liberated a small terrier who was generally tied up in the stables, and actually brought him up to the nursery. But Nurse quickly sent him down again.
"How I wish we needn't go to lessons to-day!" sighed Freda.
"I shall go out fishing," said Edmund. "Old Bates says he'll come with me."
Bates was the coachman, and Nurse was quite willing to trust him with the charge of Edmund.
"Nurse, Dreamikins hasn't been to tea for ages and ages. May she come this afternoon? Do say 'Yes,'" begged Daffy.
For some reason or other Nurse was in a very good temper to-day.