“Well, then, the Thursday Club will meet here next Wednesday,” said Patty; “unless I am otherwise engaged.”
For she just happened to think, that on that day she might be again attempting to earn her fifteen dollars.
“What’s the Thursday Club? Mayn’t I belong?” said a pleasant voice, and Mr. Hepworth came in.
“Oh, how do you do?” cried Patty, jumping up, and offering both hands. “I’m so glad to see you. Do sit down.”
“I came round,” said Mr. Hepworth, after greeting the others, “in hopes I could corral a cup of tea. I thought you ran a five-o’clock tea-room.”
“We do,” said Patty, ringing a bell nearby. “That is, we always have tea when Nan is home; and we can just as well have it when she isn’t.”
“I suppose you young people don’t care for tea,” went on Mr. Hepworth, looking a little enviously at the merry group, who, indeed, didn’t care whether they had tea or not.
“Oh, yes, we do,” said Patty. “We love it. But we,—we just forgot it. We were so engrossed in organising a club.”
But the others did not follow up this conversational beginning, and even before the tea was brought, Elise said she must go.
“Nonsense!” said Patty; “don’t go yet.”