And with her bonnet in her hand, she went dancing down the kitchen stairs. Nelly would have been in an implacable humour, indeed, if the sight of her bright face had not softened her. Regardless of the risk to muslins and ribbons, she sprang at once into the midst of the delayed preparations.
“Nelly! Who do you think is coming? You will never guess. I may as well tell you. Mrs Snow!”
“Eh, me! That’s news, indeed. Take care of the gravy, Miss Rose, dear. And when is she coming?”
There was not the faintest echo of rebuke in Nelly’s tone. There was no possibility of refusing to be thus included in the family joy, even in the presence of overdone fowls and ruined vegetables. Besides, she had the greatest respect for the oldest friend of the family, and a great desire to see her. She looked upon her as a wonderful person, and aspired in a humble way to imitate her virtues, so she set the gravy-dish on the table to hear more.
“And when will she be coming?” she asked.
“Some time in June. And, Nelly, such preparations as we shall have! But it is a shame, we kept dinner waiting. We could not help it, indeed.”
“You dinna need to tell me that. I heard who came with you. Carry you up the plates, and the dinner will be up directly.”
“And so your old nurse is coming?” said Mrs Grove, after they had been some time at the table. “How delightful! You look quite excited, Rose. She is a very nice person, I believe, Miss Elliott.” Graeme smiled. Mrs Grove’s generally descriptive term hardly indicated the manifold virtues of their friend; but, before she could say so, Mrs Grove continued.
“We must think of some way of doing her honour. We must get up a little fête—a pic-nic or something. Will she stay here or at Mr Birnie’s. She is a friend of his, I suppose, as Rose stopped him in the street to tell him she is coming. It is rather awkward having such people staying in the house. They are apt to fancy, you know; and really, one cannot devote all one’s time—”
Rose sent her a glance of indignation; Graeme only smiled. Arthur had not heard her last remark, so he answered the first.