"I hope that's—" she began, but she did not finish, for she saw the Robinson twins in a shining, new car, Bess at the wheel, as though she had been running one for months, and the sisters both attired in their becoming motoring costumes.
"Come on!" cried Bess as Cora leaned out of the window. "Get your car and we'll take a spin! Isn't ours a beauty?"
"Oh, isn't it!" cried Cora delightedly. "But I thought it wasn't to come for a week."
"We couldn't help deceiving you, Cora, dear," answered Belle. "But you see—"
"And you can run it all alone?" interrupted Cora.
"Yes, all by our lonelies," answered Bess. "You see, we wanted to surprise you, so we didn't tell you exactly when it was coming. When it arrived we got Paul—I mean Mr. Hastings, of course—we got him to give us lessons along a quiet road, where we never met any one who knew us. And father is not a bit timid about us going out alone since Paul—I mean—"
"Never mind explaining," broke in Cora with a laugh.
"Well, since Paul showed us how to run it. Papa has taken a great notion to Paul," finished Bess with the suspicion of a blush.
"How about the daughter?" asked Cora gaily. "Of course, she would never take a notion to the same young man her father happened to favor."
"Oh, you horrid creature!" exclaimed Bess. "He did teach me beautifully, of course. But a girl may look at a chauffeur, I suppose, just as a cat may gaze at a crowned monarch."