But Peter would not let the meeting end on an unpleasant note. He urged Hanny to take the two women, Vevi and Connie into the parlor. Then he went to the car to tell Mr. Piff he was sorry to have spoken so hastily.
“You’ll reconsider and go in with us on the flower show?” Mr. Piff demanded.
Peter shook his head. “No, no!” he said impatiently. “I have told you already—I have no money for such affairs.”
“I’ll make you change your mind yet,” Mr. Piff insisted. “You’re missing the chance of a lifetime.”
Halfway restored to good humor, he allowed Peter to escort him into the farmhouse.
Miss Mohr, Miss Gordon and the children already had gone inside. Hanny had called the housekeeper, Mrs. Schultz, a plump German lady, who kept the premises as neat as a pin.
“Oh, how delightful!” Miss Mohr exclaimed, her gaze roving over the room.
The walls were half-paneled in oak, with a deep white frieze above for the display of blue Delft ware. A brace of crossed pipes hung above the massive mantel.
All of the furniture was solid, the huge cupboard, the carved chest and the high-back chairs. The wooden floor was so highly polished that Vevi and Connie had to walk carefully not to slip and fall.
While the women admired the Delft tiles and Maiolica ware Peter had brought from Holland, Hanny helped Mrs. Schultz prepare hot chocolate.