Then he rushed to his mother.
"Hullo, are you jealous again? Do you want to play at sweethearts?"
But his father called to him, reproachfully:
"Come, Addie, let us start."
And Addie ran from one to the other like a little dog and at last landed on his bicycle with a ridiculous jump; and Constance stealthily watched him spurting past Van der Welcke, leaning forward over his handle-bar, pedalling like mad.
Then she felt happy, because he was merry, like a child....
Emilie had been married a day or two, when Addie said, at dinner:
"I went for a walk with Henri van Naghel and his friend Kees Hijdrecht."
"But, Addie," said Constance, who was very irritable that day, "why are you always with those boys? Do they really care for going out with you? Why not go to Aunt Adolphine's boys instead? They are your own age."
"Well, I can understand that Addie prefers Henri," Van der Welcke let fall, unfortunately.