“I am glad you like it,” Mrs. Eldon said with a gratified look.
“And these two dress patterns, of different shades of gray silk, are from Uncle Albert,” remarked Dorothy, opening another package. “He thought you would not want to be always dressed exactly alike, and says you are to decide for yourselves which shall have which.”
“Ethel, as the eldest, should be the one to settle that question,” said Blanche. “I think them both so beautiful that I shall not care which is left for me. Oh, how kind in Uncle Albert to give them to us!”
“And here is enough handsome black silk to make a dress for each of you,” continued Dorothy, opening still another package and displaying its contents. “It is Aunt Augusta’s wedding gift.”
“I—I am almost overwhelmed!” cried Blanche, scarcely able to speak from emotion. “I who never before had even one perfectly new silk dress! Oh, Uncle George, I am afraid you and Uncle Albert will ruin yourselves doing so much for us!”
“I have no great apprehensions of that, my little girl,” he returned with a fatherly smile. “You are the only nieces we have to provide for—except Dorothy here for me, and I don’t mean to let her go for a good while yet,” smiling affectionately upon her; “so it would be a sad pity if we couldn’t open our hearts enough to give you a few wedding clothes. But I must go now, and I think it would be well for you and Dorothy to start out pretty soon to attend to that important shopping which I hear you have on hand.”
With that the three gentlemen withdrew from the room, and after a few minutes’ chat with their aunt about the purchases to be made that morning, Dorothy and Blanche started out also.
They returned to Ethel at dinner time to report as good success with their shopping as hers of the previous day. Blanche had bought a gray travelling dress of a different shade from that of her sister, a hat and gloves to match it, besides various smaller articles needed to complete her trousseau, and Ethel admired and approved to the entire satisfaction of the purchasers.
“Now,” said Dorothy, “I think we need do very little, if any more, shopping for some weeks, when the spring fashions have come out; but there is plenty of sewing connected with what we have already bought to keep us all three busy. How I wish you were ready to come to us at once, so that we could get fairly to work immediately.”
“Dorothy, how very kind you are,” said Ethel, giving her a bright look and smile. “I doubt if many girls in your place would think it any concern of theirs whether our sewing was done in season or not, or offer us any assistance with it.”