“Comment! Une statue! Je dois arranger mes cheveux comme une statue? Oh, ciel!” mocked Mademoiselle, collapsing into tinkles of her sprite laughter.... “Oh-là-là! Et quelle statue par exemple?” she trilled, with ironic eyebrows, “la statue de votre Kaisère Wilhelm der Grosse peut-être?”
The Martins’ guffaws led the laughter.
“Mademoisellekin with her hair done like the Kaiser Wilhelm,” pealed Jimmie.
Only Clara remained grave in wrath.
“Einfach,” she quoted bitterly, “Simple—says Lily, so simple!”
“Simple—simpler—simplicissimusko!”
“I make no change, not at all,” smiled Minna from behind her nose. “For this Ulrica it is quite something other.... She has yes truly so charming a little head.”
She spoke quietly and unenviously.
“I too, indeed. Lily may go and play the flute.”
“Brave girls,” said Gertrude, getting up. “Come on, Kinder, clearing time. You’ll excuse us, Miss Henderson? There’s your pudding in the lift. Do you mind having your coffee mit?”