She said it in such an old-fashioned way that I couldn’t help smiling.
“I don’t know much about boys,” I said. “I think I’d rather have sisters.”
“Oh, no, you wouldn’t,” replied Evey quickly. “You don’t know how nice brothers are. When you see Joss—” but here she had to break off. Lady Honor had stepped back a pace or two to speak to us. Her face looked very kind and pleased, and there was nothing the least “mocking,” as I called it to myself, in her tone.
“That’s right, Connie, my dear,” she said, as she shook hands with me. “Very good of your dear mother to let you come. Now, is it your place or mine, Evey, to introduce all these brothers of yours to Miss Percy, or shall we let things settle themselves? You will learn them all in time, Connie, though it may seem at first as if you never would.”
In Evey’s place I should probably have been rather offended at this, but, on the contrary, both she and her brothers seemed to think the old lady’s joke very amusing.
“I’ll introduce them by telling Connie all their names and ages, thank you, Lady Honor,” she answered brightly. “Come on, Connie; it will take some time, I warn you.” We ran on a little way together, Lady Honor looking quite pleased. It was easy to see that she really wanted Evey and me to be friends, and I felt gratified at this.
“It will be nice for Evey sometimes to get out of all that crowd of boys,” I thought to myself. “I daresay Lady Honor thinks being with me may make her quiet and refined,” though, truth to tell, for all her simplicity, I had seen no touch of anything the least rough or hoydenish in my new friend.
“Lady Honor is always so funny, isn’t she?” was Evey’s first remark, as soon as we were out of hearing. “Papa says it’s delightful to see an old person so fresh and merry. But she has such a kind heart: that keeps people young more than anything,” she added, in her wise way.
“Yes,” I agreed, “she is very kind; but sometimes she’s rather”—“rather sharp,” I was going to say, but something in Evey’s eyes made me hesitate—“I mean I sometimes am a very little frightened of her.”