Then Mr. Fairfield proposed his plan of taking Grandma Elliott to spend the winter with them in the city.
Grandma’s eyes beamed with delight as she listened, for the old lady was urban in her tastes and had lived far the greater part of her life in New York.
Aunt Alice and Uncle Charlie heartily approved of this arrangement.
“We shall miss you dreadfully,” said Mr. Elliott to his mother, “but we shall let you go cheerfully, for I well know how much you will enjoy it.”
But Marian set up another howl.
“It’s bad enough to have Patty go,” she said, “but to have Grandma go, too, is terrible. I suppose you’ll take mother and little Gilbert, as well.”
“Marian, you’re a goose!” said Patty, laughing. “If you don’t stop talking like that, I’ll take you along and keep you there all winter.”
“I don’t want to do that,” said Marian, “but I don’t want you to go either. I know one thing, though—after you’ve been there a week you’ll be so disgusted you’ll come trailing back again.”
“And after you’ve visited me for a week you’ll be so enchanted that you won’t want to come trailing back,” said Patty, laughing at her cousin’s woe-begone expression.
“When are you going?” asked Marian in a tone of final resignation.