Young Harry Egerton, from a big station further north, danced a lot with Mollie, and he quite beamed when she told him she liked his name. When he asked her why, and she told him it was because she had a nice Uncle named Harry he didn’t look half so pleased.
“And we’re going to Sydney to stay with him again this summer,” she went on. “He’ll soon be back from the Continent now.”
Then Harry said he was going to Sydney for the summer, too, and they’d meet down there.
Enid was so pleased to see Frank again that she had the second dance with him, and then fat George Blackston came up and said she promised it to him a long time ago. She smiled sweetly, and begged to be excused, because Frank had been so long away, and was only staying up the country for a little time.
So George marched off and secured another partner, and said he didn’t think the party was going to be much good.
“Why?” asked his partner with wide-open eyes, for she had just been thinking how “lovely” it was.
All the evening the fun was kept going. At first Willie strolled round and watched them all; but after a while he, too, joined in the merriment, and what a time they had!
Doris was romping round, and tore the wadding on her dress, and after that little pieces of white fur were scattered all over the room. But she didn’t care, with her head thrown back, her eyes and cheeks glowing, she pranced round and said it was the beautifullest party she was ever at. And Eva, too, put away her flower-wreathed wand and joined in the fun.
Mother and a lot more grown ups looked on and smiled and talked about the costumes, and the baby slept through it all, never knowing the good time he was missing.
“You know,” confided Eileen to one of her partners, “we ought to have a lot of parties like this.”