“What a nice, nice man!” exclaimed Miss Hooker. “I should say it doesn’t hurt! To think of his working nights after painting all day long. I should admire those trees if they were a bright purple!”
“Of course you would,” said Uncle Robert softly. “You are like that.”
Rosanna was hurt. “Why, Uncle Robert! She doesn’t mean that she would just as soon like a purple tree as a green one. She means how nice it was of the man.”
“Thank you, Rosanna; it is all perfectly clear to me now,” smiled Uncle Robert. “Perfectly clear.” He looked again at Miss Hooker and she smothered a little smile behind her little handkerchief.
They hated to go out of the theatre and see Uncle Robert lock the door. Then they separated. Elise danced off to the house. Miss Hooker and Helen went down the street together, and Uncle Robert and Rosanna cut across the garden. Rosanna’s heart was full. She wanted everybody to be happy.
“Uncle Robert,” she said, “sometimes I wish that you were going to get married after awhile. If you were only going to marry Miss Hooker or some young lady just like her, so little and sweet!”
“Well, it is worth considering,” said Uncle Robert. “I wonder now, just for the sake of argument, that is, if I should do it to accommodate you, I wonder if Miss Hooker would marry me.”
“Oh, no,” said Rosanna. “She wouldn’t think of it.”
“Ugh!” said Uncle Robert. It sounded as though someone had knocked all the air out of him.