"Never mind about their husbands. We don't need 'em to sew—and a mother's a mother, and she likes to make things fer her baby."
Miss Lee noted the flush and changed the subject.
"I hear you are going to take some Italians and their children here for the summer."
Drusilla's eyes lighted up, and the angry gleam fled instantly.
"Now, how did you hear that?"
"It's all over the neighborhood. And—"
"Is it? Then I suppose I might as well let the neighbors git it direct. Yes, I been visitin' places where I've traipsed up and down stairs till I'm most knee sprung, but I've learnt a lot of things, and sense I've seen how some of 'em live, I couldn't sleep nights unless I done somethin' fer 'em; and givin' a mother and her babies two weeks in the country is the least I kin do. Why, I look at all this grass, jest made fer babies to roll on, and I see the trees that ain't doin' what a tree should do unless it has some one under it, and I lay awake nights to plan things; and Dr. Eaton don't git no time to see his patients, I keep him so busy. Him and me's been goin' over the house and there's twelve spare bedrooms goin' to waste besides the settin'-rooms that's jined to 'em. And we was talkin' about the big armor room, that place with the tin men and horses. Now, I don't care much fer tin men, although John moons over 'em a lot, but there's a lot of people who like to look at 'em, and don't git a chance' cause they're shut up here doin' no good to no one. Dr. Eaton says that the Metropolitan Museum in the city'd be glad to have 'em as a loan, and then everybody who likes such things could go and see 'em, and I can make the room into a big playroom or day nursery, as folks call it."
Miss Lee looked up, horrified.
"Do you mean to say that you are goin' to spoil this beautiful house and these beautiful grounds?"
"Spoil 'em? How'll it spoil 'em? They're goin' to waste as it is."