“Now, look here,” she said with decision and finality. “You’d better get the idea of staying here right out of your head, Margie. Circumstances have made it entirely out of the question. If you’re the kind of woman I think you are, you’ll start making plans to move where it’s less expensive. I think your way lies over the hills to Elmhurst. You can pay all your bills here, sell off a lot of heavy furniture, and move up there this spring. For you can’t stay here. There’s hardly enough money to see you through as it is. I’m going to help you along a bit until you get your new start.”
“Not money enough!” said Mrs. Craig as though she could not believe it. “But we couldn’t think of going up there and all living with you, Becky.”
“You’re not going to,” answered Rebecca. “Thank the Lord, I live in a land where houses and food are comparatively cheap and there’s room for everybody. We don’t tack a brass doorplate on a rock pile like I saw there in New York, Margie, and call it a home at about ten dollars a minute to breathe. I’ve been telling Tom you’d better rent a farm near me, and settle down on it.”
“But Becky—” Mrs. Craig hesitated.
“Oh, Mom, do it, do it,” came in a quick outburst from Kit, standing back against the wall. “It would be swell for all of us and would do wonders for Dad!”
“We wouldn’t mind a bit. We’d love it, wouldn’t we, Tommy?” Doris squeezed Tommy’s hand to be sure he would answer in the affirmative. “We’d all help you.”
Tommy was silent, still too bewildered at the idea to express an opinion.
“I shouldn’t mind for myself, but we must think of the children—their schooling and what environment means to teen-agers. I suppose Jean could be left at school.”
“Thought she was all through school,” interrupted Rebecca.
“I am, only I’ve been taking lessons in town this winter in a special course, arts and crafts, you know, and next fall I was going into the regular classes at the National Academy of Design.”