“You can do that as you please,” said Silas. “Air we to have the tea-drinkin’, or air we not, Aunt Hannah?”
“I think, hall things considerin’, that it ’ud be right to have it,” said Aunt Hannah, in a solemn voice. “In a matter o’ this sort it’s right to consider the waluables, and this chaney is altogether out of the common. The first thing to be done is to scald it, and that I’ll manage for yer on Monday morning, Silas, for I’ll bring over my own wooden pail, and gradually heat each cup and each saucer in hot water, until it’ll bear the heat when it comes to the bile. It’s wonderful careless of gels in these days, they’ll crack the finest chaney for not knowing how properly to scald it afore usin’.”
“That’s settled then,” said Silas. “I’ll speak to Jill to-morrow, and we’ll ask Mr Hibberty Jones and his wife, and Mary Ann Hatton to come to tea, and ef Mr Peters ’ud honour us as well we’d be proud to see him. You’ll see to the victuals, won’t you, Aunt Hannah?”
“Yes, you leave that to me,” said Aunt Hannah. “That girl ’ull eat a cake worth eating for the first time in her life—and now I must be goin’ ’ome.”
Chapter Fifteen.
Jill was quite willing to accompany Silas home for the tea-drinking. He told her about it on Sunday when he went to see her in her little flat.
“Yer to come down looking as peart as you can. Jill,” he said to her. “The folks in Newbridge beats all folks livin’ for contrariness. They think that God Almighty did right when He made a lovely flower, and mortal wrong when He made a lovely woman. They think as sweetness and beauty can go together in flowers but not in gels, so I want you to look your werry beat, my dainty little cuttin’, and show ’em as they are all hout for once in their reckonin’s. I’m thinkin’ as maybe yer would like a new bit of a gownd; what do yer say to a yaller cotton now, made werry stylish? I don’t mind paying a real good dressmaker to put it together. Come, now, would you like it, ah?”
“No, thank you, Silas,” said Jill. “I’ll feel more at home like in my old black gownd, which has in a sort of a way growed to me. I’d like best to wear that with a bit of a posy that you’ll pick out of the garden fresh for me when I get down.”