Uncle Doctor gently pulled her down into his lap.
“Dear me, Doris isn’t the only other girl in school, is she?” he asked in mock astonishment. “I thought there were dozens of girls there.”
Elizabeth Ann chuckled at that idea.
“Of course there are lots of girls,” she explained. “Only Doris is much the nicest. We like each other.”
“Cran, I want to tell Elizabeth Ann what is in this letter,” said Cousin Nellie gently. “How can I tell her if you tease her all the time? Elizabeth Ann, listen, dear—your Aunt Jennie wants to send Doris to the country to spend the winter and she wants you to go with her.”
Elizabeth Ann sat up with a jerk, beaming.
“I’ll go,” she announced joyfully. “Where are we going, Cousin Nellie?”
Uncle Doctor and Cousin Nellie looked at each other and laughed.
“My dear child,” said Cousin Nellie, “I haven’t the slightest idea whether it will be best for you to go. Your Aunt Jennie thinks it would be fine for Doris to be with you, but she says herself she doesn’t know whether you ought to leave Aunt Ida’s school.”
“Oh, yes, Cousin Nellie!” Elizabeth Ann pleaded, “It will do me good not to go to school. I’ve been to school very regularly for years and years.”