“Me?” cried little Anne, ecstatically striking her breast.
“You and this other Anne are my very dearest friends,” Richard gravely assured her. “The other Anne knew all about it; I did not have to tell her. Little Anne, my play is finished!”
“Oh, is it?” cried little Anne, clasping her hands fervently as she always did when moved.
Though she did not understand precisely the full import of what she had been told, she realized that Richard Latham had long been at work upon this play. That it was finished meant something so great that she could not grasp it. This only proved it the more glorious.
Anne Dallas with an effort that little Anne could not see, though she did see how white and worn the girl looked, took up the tale.
“It is the most beautiful play that ever was, dear little Anne. And it is done, every word! It is called ‛The Guerdon.’ The great New York manager, who was here the other day, is going to put the play on in the autumn, if he can get it ready. It will be acted by the best actors in the country, and the scenery will be a dream! And on the first night—what do you suppose? Mr. Latham will have the big box next the stage, and he is going to invite some people who are dear to him to sit with him in that box! Mr. Wilberforce, the famous painter, will be one of them, but who else do you suppose, little Anne?”
“I don’t know,” little Anne managed to say, huskily, choked by a hope that she dared not admit.
“Little Anne Berkley for one!” cried Anne, triumphantly, seizing the child’s face between her hands to kiss it.
“Me? At night? In New York? Oh, oh!” Little Anne looked almost faint from the shock of this overwhelming joy. “Never, never in all my life have I been once to the theatre, and I have to go to bed at eight, no matter what! And I’ve only been to New York three times, and once was to a dentist, and once to the zoo—the other I was a baby. Oh, I’ll pray my mother will let me go! Mr. Latham, I’d die for you over and over.”
“Live for me, little Anne, please!” Richard laughed. “Come here, small Dynamic, and thank me at closer range.”