"With pleasure," he responded, adding loyally, "and we'll hire a machine at Chelmsford, so that Miss Nan can accompany us."
"And you will come, too, will you not?" she said, turning towards Professor Faulkner.
I did not hear his reply, for at that moment Mr. Dicks addressed a question to me; but it struck me that she was rather a forward young woman.
Two days later a consignment of trunks arrived for Miss Dicks. She had already displayed such a variety of pretty and fashionable changes of attire that I wondered how many more clothes she had. Judging by the size of her trunks she might have had a different gown for each day of the year.
She appeared delighted to receive her luggage, and spent the greater part of the next day in her room, engaged in unpacking the boxes. Late in the afternoon I was going upstairs when I heard a voice calling, "Nan, Nan!" Glancing upwards, I saw Miss Dicks standing at the door of her room. I had not given her permission to address me by my Christian name, and it would not have occurred to me to call her "Pollie." But this was only another instance of the inimitable coolness with which she made herself at home with us all. I could only conclude that her free and easy bearing was typically American, and endeavour to reconcile myself to it with as good a grace as possible.
"Do come here, Nan, and look at my things," she cried as she saw me.
As I entered her room I exclaimed at the sight it presented. Bed, sofa, table, chairs, and even the floor were littered with all kinds of choice and pretty things, making the place look like a bazaar. There were mosaics and marbles from Italy, Roman lamps, conchas, cameos, exquisite bits of Venetian glass, corals and tortoise-shells from Naples, silk blankets from Como, and olive-wood boxes from Bellagio. But it is vain to attempt to name all the things that met my eyes. I think there were specimens of the arts and manufactures of every place which she and her father had visited.
"Oh, how lovely!" I exclaimed. "But what will you do with all these things? Are you going to open a shop?"
"Not exactly," she said with a laugh. "I am going to take them back to America with me. Some are for myself, and some for my friends. Father wanted me not to unpack them till we got them home, but I felt that I must look and see if they were all safe."
For the next half-hour I had nothing to do but admire. There were little boxes packed with small and rare ornaments, which she opened one by one to show me the contents. I felt sure now that Josiah Dicks must be a millionaire. It was a delight to me to see so many pretty things, and their possessor seemed to enjoy my appreciation of them.