CHAPTER II
BETTY WALES, “M. A.”
Things did look different in the morning. Betty sighed a little as she considered her last winter’s suit, which she had relegated to the position of a rainy day stand-by, in the light of a “general utility,”—K.’s delightful name for her one street costume. K. and Rachel had managed very well with a new suit once in two or three years. Well, then, so could she, Betty told herself sternly. Just then Mary Hooper telephoned to know about the Saturday rides.
“I’m afraid you can’t count on me,” Betty explained to her. “No, I’m not too busy, Mary, but riding horses are very expensive, and I don’t believe I can afford it.”
Mary’s curt, “Oh, very well, I didn’t suppose you had to consider that. Good-bye, then,” stung a hot blush into Betty’s cheeks. She didn’t care what Mary Hooper thought of her—yes, she did—well, she wouldn’t any more.
That night at dinner mother looked worried, in her turn.
“My new cook has given notice,” she told the assembled family the first time the waitress went out of the room, “and I thought she was going to be such a treasure!”
“What’s her trouble?” demanded Will gaily.
“She doesn’t like living where they keep only two maids. Of course it is difficult to manage, especially with such a big house. Maggie is too busy sweeping and dusting and answering the bell to help at all in the kitchen. Yesterday the cook absolutely refused to clean the silver, and to-night she grumbled about wiping the dishes.”
“Then have the third maid back, Alice. It was only to be an experiment, this cutting down household expenses. I simply won’t have you worried.” Father’s voice sounded impatient, because he felt so very unhappy.
“I don’t know how I can help worrying when everything goes wrong, and I understood that it was absolutely necessary to cut down expenses.” Mother’s voice sounded stiff and unsympathetic, because father didn’t realize how glad she had been to do her part.