"Tom, you are incorrigible. A partnership in the house, I mean. You know what I mean."
"Yes, I know what you mean, darling Kitty; and it will all come right, don't be afraid; and tell mamma not to worry herself about it. I am agreeable. Only I wish it hadn't been all planned out so nicely. If only they had left it for me to choose for myself," he added, returning to his starting-point.
"And if they had, you would have chosen Blanche, don't you think?"
"Possibly. Blanche is a charming girl, of course. Oh, Kitty, Kitty! Why didn't they leave me and Cousin Blanche to set about it in the good old fashion? As it is, I feel as if Blanche had been my wife and I her husband ever since we were babies; and that I am an old married man."
"An old married man of eighteen!" and Kitty laughed merrily.
"Just so," said Tom, grimly. "I wonder whether anybody took the trouble to plan in this way for father and mother before they were really married."
"Their case was different," argued the sister; "but what does that signify? You say you are fond of Blanche, don't you?"
"Why, of course. What a young infidel you are, Kitty."
"Then you should be a good boy, and take care she doesn't slip through your fingers. That's what mamma says."
"Tell mamma, then, that I will behave better in future. Heigh-ho! And now let us talk about something else. Aren't you sorry you have left school for good?"