“She would do quite as well for Ella at the Roselands; wouldn’t she, Cal?” said Dr. Arthur Conly with a humorous look at his elder brother.
“Not a doubt of it; for ourselves too, for that matter,” laughed Calhoun.
“Or for us at the Oaks,” remarked the younger Mr. Horace Dinsmore; and his sister Mrs. Lacey added, “Or for us at the Laurels.”
“Evidently she is in no danger of finding herself homeless,” remarked the father of the last two with a smile.
“No, indeed! not while her older Cousin Elsie has one or more to offer her,” added the sweet voice of his eldest daughter. “I propose that some of us take her into the city to-morrow morning and buy for her whatever may be needed to supply her with a wardrobe equal to that of any one of our own girls.”
“A very good thought, cousin,” said Mr. Lilburn, “and with your leave I shall make one of that party. And might it not be well to take the lass herself with us and consult her own taste to supplement the good judgment of yourself and any of the other ladies who may care to accompany us?”
“And give her the pleasure of seeing the city too,” said Zoe, “if she is sufficiently rested from her long and wearisome journey to enjoy it.”
After a little more talk it was fully decided that the trip to the city and the shopping should be undertaken on the morrow, and Marian invited to accompany them or not, as might suit her inclination.