His enthusiasm continued at the boiling point until they ascended the hill and had the first full view of the house. Then his face lengthened and he lapsed into silence. Hugo was not so considerate. "Do you mean to tell me this is the house?" demanded he of Amy. "Why, it's a cottage. How ridiculous to put such a climax to all these preparations!"
Amy's eyes flashed and she tossed her head scornfully.
Hugo continued to look and began to laugh. "Ridiculous!" he repeated. "Don't you think so, father?"
"It is hardly what I expected," confessed Fosdick. "It isn't done yet, is it, Amy?"
"Yes, it's done," she said angrily. "And it's the best thing about the place. I don't want you to say anything more until you've gone over it. The trouble with you and Hugo is that your taste has been corrupted by the vulgarity in New York. You don't appreciate the difference between beauty and ostentation. Mr. Siersdorf has built a house for a gentleman, not for a multimillionaire."
That silenced them; and in silence she led the way into and through the house, by a route that would present all its charms and comforts in effective succession. She made no comments; she simply regulated the speed of the tour, trusting to their eyes to show them what she could not believe any eyes could fail to see. At the veranda commanding the most magnificent of the many views, she brought the tour to an end. The luncheon table was there, and she ordered the servants to bring lunch. And a delicious lunch it was, ending with wonderful English strawberries, crimson, huge, pink-white within and sweet as their own fragrance—"grown on the place," explained Amy, "and this cream is from our own dairy down there."
"I take it all back," said Fosdick. "You and Siersdorf were right. Eh, Hugo?"
"It's better than I thought," conceded Hugo. "There certainly is a—a tone about the house that I've not often seen on this side of the water."
"And there's a comfort you've never seen on the other side," said Amy. "You are satisfied, father?"
"Satisfied!" exclaimed Fosdick. "I'm overwhelmed."