“So here you are!” exclaimed Harold. “We were looking for you and want to take you back near the house. We are to have a small lunch of cake and lemonade handed about to us on the lawn, Aunt Sue says; after that some games to make the time pass pleasantly until the dinner-hour.”
“With such inducements held out would it not be well to go with them, Miss Keith?” queried Calhoun.
“Perhaps so,” she returned laughingly; “since I heard the lemonade mentioned I have discovered that I am somewhat thirsty.”
“And I own that the announcement has had the same effect upon me,” he said.
“Then come,” said Herbert, leading the way by turning into another shaded alley; “we will reach our destination sooner by this path.”
The day passed most pleasantly to all, the greater part of it spent in sports in the open air; a grand dinner, served in the large dining-room of the mansion, taking up an hour or more; then a time of rest and quiet talk underneath the trees or on the verandas; after that more games, followed by a light tea handed the guests where they were, and soon after a pleasant ride or drive homeward.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] See “Mildred’s Married Life.”