“I thought you said it was the grocer, Charlotte, honey,” said Mrs. Carroll, helplessly.
“He is a gentleman, if he is a grocer,” said Charlotte, and her cheek blazed.
Anna Carroll looked sharply at her from her drawer, then went on folding the handkerchief.
“He is a lawyer, and as well-educated as papa,” Charlotte said, further, in her clear, brave voice, and she returned her aunt's look unflinchingly, although her cheeks continued to blush.
Mrs. Carroll still looked bewildered. “How much did you pay him, Charlotte, dear?” she asked.
“Twenty-five dollars.”
“The whole of the check Arthur gave you?”
“Yes, Amy.”
“But you might have bought yourself a hat, honey, and you did need one. I can't quite understand why you paid the grocer, when he had not refused to let us have more groceries, and you might have bought a hat.”
Anna, packing the drawer, began to laugh, and Charlotte, after frowning a second, laughed also.