It was not at all hard for Jessie to imagine the picture after the vivid description she had received of Miss Asenath. "I'll bet she'll look just lovely," she declared warmly, "and it certainly is a splendid match! No one could have matched it better!"
The other girls made a smiling affirmation to this verdict.
Mrs. Bixby turned around from her own conversation at the sudden sound of these animated voices so close to her and lifted her gold lorgnette to examine Arethusa.
"This girl was waiting on me, I believe," she said, indicating Jessie with a wave of her aristocratic hand, and speaking in a pleasantly acid tone that was intended to consign Arethusa to nothingness forever.
But Arethusa gave no smallest sign of doing so.
"She was waiting on me, long before you ever saw her!"
That lorgnette could but irritate Arethusa.
Mrs. Bixby glanced up and down, and then through her.
"Indeed! I think you're mistaken!" Then to Jessie. "I wasn't through, girl."
"But you said...." began poor Jessie.