"Does he like her?"
"I don't know; I should think he would; I don't see how he can help it."
"What did he whisper to you when you came up the steps?"
"Oh, he bade me ask Miss Gertrude if she wasn't coming back to see him again, and tell her he was tired to death waiting for her."
Kitty pouted and looked vexed. "Has Miss Flint been in the habit of receiving company here, and been treated like an equal?"
"Of course she has," answered Fanny, with spirit; "why shouldn't she? She's the most perfect lady I ever saw, and mother says she has beautiful manners, and I must take pattern by her."
"Oh, Miss Gertrude!" called she, as Gertrude, who had been to place the strawberries in the refrigerator, crossed the back part of the long entry, "Are you ready now?"
"Yes, Fanny, I shall be in a moment," answered Gertrude.
"Ready for what?" inquired Kitty.
"To read," said Fanny. "She is going to read the rest of Hamlet to Miss Emily; she read the first three acts yesterday, and Miss Emily let me sit in her room and hear it. I can't understand it when I read it myself, but when I listen to Miss Gertrude it seems quite plain. She's a splendid reader, and I came in to-day on purpose to hear the play finished."