Ethel shook herself somewhat disdainfully.
“And I’m going to play tennis with Matilda Fortescue,” continued Nesta. “Oh, hurrah! hurrah! Isn’t it nice to have a day of freedom?”
“What do you mean, girls?” said Marcia at that moment.
Her voice had a new quality in it; the girls were arrested in their idle talk.
“What do we mean?” said Nesta, who was far and away the most pert of the sisters. “Why, this is what we mean: Dear old Marcia, the old darling, has come back, and we’re free.”
“I wish to tell you,” said Marcia, “that this is a mistake.”
“What do you mean?” said Molly. “Do you mean to insinuate that you are not our sister, our dear old sister?”
“I mean to assure you,” said Marcia, “that I am your sister, and I have come back to share your work and to help you, but not to take your duties from you.”
“Our duties!” cried Molly, with a laugh. “Why, of course we have heaps of duties—more than we can attend to. We make our own clothes, don’t we, Nesta?”
“And beautifully we do it,” said Nesta. “And don’t we trim our own hats?”