And, jumping down, she took Tony from his comfortable nest among the cabbage-leaves, and with a polite good-by she darted out, leaving the dingy little shop darker for her going.
For a long time after she went Gex sat looking thoughtfully at his needlework. Then he sighed heavily, and muttered to himself: “If Marie had lived! If she’d lived, I’d been more of a man.”
CHAPTER XI
THE VISIT TO THE PAICHOUX
One bright morning in October, while Pepsie and Lady Jane were very busy over their pecans, there was a sudden rattling of wheels and jingling of cans, and Tante Modeste’s milk-cart, gay in a fresh coat of red paint, with the shining cans, and smart little mule in a bright harness, drew up before the door, and Tante Modeste herself jumped briskly down from the high seat, and entered like a fresh breath of spring.
She and Madelon were twin sisters, and very much alike; the same large, fair face, the same smooth, dark hair combed straight back from the forehead, and twisted in a glossy knot at the back, and like Madelon she wore a stiffly starched, light calico gown, finished at the neck with a muslin scarf tied in a large bow; her head was bare, and in her ears she wore gold hoops, and around her neck was a heavy chain of the same precious metal.
When Pepsie saw her she held out her arms, flushing with pleasure, and cried joyfully: “Oh, Tante Modeste, how glad I am! I thought you’d forgotten to come for Lady Jane.”
Tante Modeste embraced her niece warmly, and then caught Lady Jane to her heart just as Madelon did. “Forgotten her? Oh, no; I’ve thought of her all the time since I was here; but I’ve been so busy.”
“What about, Tante Modeste?” asked Pepsie eagerly.
“Oh, you can’t think how your cousin Marie is turning us upside down, since she decided to be a lady.” Here Tante Modeste made a little grimace of disdain. “She must have our house changed, and her papa can’t say ‘no’ to her. I like it best as it was, but Marie must have paint and carpets; think of it—carpets! But I draw the line at the parlor—the salon,” and again Tante Modeste shrugged and laughed. “She wants a salon; well, she shall have a salon just as she likes it, and I will have the other part of the house as I like it. Just imagine, your uncle has gone on Rue Royale, and bought a mirror, a console, a cabinet, a sofa, and a carpet.”
“Oh, oh, Tante Modeste, how lovely!” cried Pepsie, clasping her hands in admiration. “I wish I could see the parlor just once.”