Granny looked at her black alpaca, which was, as Mr. Bill said, as neat as a pin, and then she turned questioning eyes to Tessie. "I could take off my apron," she said slowly, and when Tessie nodded, she caught Johnny by the shoulder. "But this young man has to wash his hands! Such fists!" She was shocked at the sight of Johnny's hands. "And your own sister a queen on a throne! It's a disgrace!" She bustled Johnny to the kitchen, although he loudly protested that he was going to wash his hands, a Scout knew enough to wash his hands when they were dirty.
"Well!" Mr. Bill drew a long breath when he was alone with Tessie. "This is a corker! An out-and-out corker!"
"It's awfully kind of you to take us to the Waloo," Tessie said softly. "Granny is too excited, and I'm too excited, to get dinner, and we don't like the cafeteria at the corner. And on our way home we could stop at the public library, couldn't we?"
"The public library!" Mr. Bill stared. Why on earth would she want to stop at the public library?
"I'd like to get some books on the Sunshine Islands," explained Tessie. "I don't know a thing about them, and I think a queen should know about her kingdom, don't you?"
"I don't think it will make the slightest difference what you know!" Mr. Bill rather lost his head as he looked into her pink face and her big blue eyes, which had such dark purple lights in them. "You'd be all right if you didn't know anything!" he stammered thickly.
"Oh, Mr. Kingley!" Tessie's pink rose of a face turned like magic into a red rose.
"Call me Bill!" he begged, and his face was red too.
Tessie almost swooned. Call her hero—her wonder man—Bill! She couldn't!
"As Dad said, we belong to the same family—the Evergreen," Mr. Bill reminded her ardently.