Mrs Wadsworth had brought this charge against Tessa several times before, but she had never shivered over it as she did this birthday morning.
“And what did you get for them? Only a hundred dollars for the three. Your father made a great fuss over them, and he really cried (his tears come very easy) over that piece you called ‘Making Mistakes.’ I couldn’t see any thing to cry over; I thought you made out that making mistakes was a very fine thing.”
“Four people from away off have written to thank her, any way,” exulted Dinah.
“People like your father I suppose.”
Dinah sprang up and began to rattle the cups and saucers; she could not bear the look in Tessa’s eyes another second.
“Dinah, I can’t talk if you make so much noise. You are very rude.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” cried Dinah, standing still with two cups in her hands. “It’s great fun! Nan Gerard refused Mr. John Gesner while she was here.”
“I don’t believe it,” exclaimed Mrs Wadsworth. “Those brothers are worth nearly a million.”
“Naughty Nan didn’t care.”
“She’ll jump out of the frying-pan into the fire, then; for the Townes, mother and son, are not worth a quarter of it.”