“Darlings,” exclaimed their mother, “what a long, long time it seems since I kissed you all!” and—
“Darlin’s,” echoed Jasper, “and we’ve brought some grapes from Fareham. That kind man sent us lots! Didn’t he, Mumsey?” and he had quite a story to tell his sisters about “meetin’” the little girl on the seashore, with her grandfather, and how “frightened” he’d been of her kissing him and catching the fever, and all the rest of it.
“He’s not looking ill, I don’t think,” said Christabel when she was alone with Leila. “His face was quite nice and rosy.”
“Just at first,” replied Leila. “He was so glad to see us all. But he looked very white after tea, and his cheeks are very thin,” and she sighed.
“Well,” said Chrissie, with a touch of the sharpness she was trying to overcome, “you needn’t be so gloomy about him. I’m going to be gooder to him than I’ve ever been, and if you are too, he’ll just get fat with happiness.”
And so daily life got back into its usual round again. But with—oh, such a difference!
“Everything seems so much nicer at home now,” said Christabel one day with satisfaction. “Of course it may be partly the weather,” which was very bright and pleasant during that early summer.
“Yes,” said Aunt Margaret, “if you include the invisible ‘weather’ as well, Chrissie dear, I can quite agree with you,” and though Jasper looked rather puzzled, the little girls “understood.”