“Mrs. Ward!” said Maggie in amazement.
“Yes, just to supper. She says she will come—she wishes to come—that we’re to invite her; in fact, she makes it a sine quâ non. She will go away again after supper, and we’re to have the whole glorious day, next Saturday week, from two in the afternoon until bedtime. Oh, sha’n’t we have fun!” 123
“Yes, of course,” said Maggie. “It’s much better even than I thought. I will write the letters of invitation immediately.”
“But why should you write a whole lot of letters?” said Kathleen. “You are one queen. Write to the other queen and mention that Mrs. Ward is coming.”
There was nothing like the present time for making arrangements; and Maggie wrote on a sheet of headed note-paper provided for her by her satellites the following words:
“Queen Maggie presents her compliments to Queen Aneta, and begs for the pleasure of her company with all her subjects on Saturday the 15th of October, to an entertainment from three to nine o’clock. She hopes that the whole school will be present, and writes in the names of her own subjects as well as of herself.
“P.S.—Mrs. Ward has most kindly promised to attend.”
This letter was subjected to the approval of the group of girls who surrounded Maggie. It was then addressed to “Queen Aneta,” and Kathleen crossed the room with it and dropped it, there and then, into Aneta Lysle’s lap.
It caused very deep amazement in the hearts of all the girls who belonged to Aneta’s party, and it is highly probable that they might have refused to accept the invitation but for that magical postscript, “Mrs. Ward has most kindly promised to attend.” But there was no withstanding that patent fact, as Mrs. Ward knew very well when she made the proposal to Kathleen.
After a lapse of about twenty minutes, Cicely Cardew crossed the room and laid the answer to Maggie’s note in her lap: