Nancy brightened at this. Her cousin was a very different girl from all Nancy’s other friends, it was only fair to give her a chance—a different sort of chance to what any other of Nancy’s chums might have expected.
The dinner served on Rosa’s pretty heart-shaped table proved a treat indeed.
“Lots more fun than eating in the dining room with Baldy at one’s elbow,” declared Nancy. “But it may seem strange to Betty—”
“Betty! She hasn’t gone down either,” replied Rosa. “Catch her sitting up straight for half an hour with only dear dad to applaud.”
“Oh,” echoed Nancy. “I’m glad she won’t miss us, because mother warned me most particularly to be punctual at meals.”
“Don’t worry, love. They’ll be gone early in the morning, then we can eat our meals on the rocks—if you’re not afraid of lizards, snakes, chipmunks and otters.”
“You promised to tell me about last summer,” Rosa reminded her. “How you got won over to the cooking class scheme.”
“Oh, yes,” and Nancy started in on her orange sherbert just as she started in on the story. “Well, you see, we have always kept rather busy. We live that way. It wouldn’t be fair to let mother work in the library while Ted and I just—ran loose—”
“Why wouldn’t it?” asked Rosa innocently. “You two kids couldn’t work in a library.”