Mamma tasted her dish, and set it down suddenly. Auntie, after one trial, laid down her spoon, and coughed behind her hand as she caught mamma’s eye. Two or three other guests present toyed with their spoons.
“This is for you, papa,” Marjorie said then, “and it’s a particularly big dish, because you are so fond of it. There! isn’t that nice?”
“What under the canopy!” hastily exclaimed the doctor, eyeing his dish in great surprise, after his first mouthful.
“What is it? isn’t it good?” inquired Cricket, anxiously, with a sudden pang, as she remembered the peppermint.
“Good? it’s—it’s delicious. Only, why didn’t you flavour it?”
“Flavour it?” cried Marjorie and Eunice and Cricket, in a breath, “I did!” Then each looked at the other.
“I put plenty of lemon in,” said Marjorie.
“I thought bitter-almond might be good,” began Eunice, looking bewildered.
“I thought Marjorie had forgotten,” broke in Cricket, rapidly, “so I thought I’d s’prise her, and I meant to put in some wintergreen, ’cause wintergreen candy is very good, ’n’ I got in the peppermint, by mistake, so I put in plenty of wintergreen afterwards, to cover it up.” She confessed this all in a breath, looking very unhappy.
There was a shout.