“I haven’t seen any signs of removal,” observed Iris, “but I’d love to.”
“Don’t be so frivolous! If I am Aunt Peace’s nephew, what relation am I to her daughter?”
“Legal daughter,” Iris suggested.
“Legal daughter is just as good as any other kind of a daughter. That makes me your cousin.”
“Legal cousin,” explained Iris, “but not moral.”
“It’s all the same, even in East Lancaster. I’m your legal cousin-once-removed.”
“Grand-legal-cousin-once-removed,” repeated Iris, parrot-like, with her eyes fixed upon a distant robin.
“That’s just the same as a plain cousin.”
“You’re plain enough to be a plain cousin,” she observed, and the colour deepened upon Lynn’s handsome face.
“So I’m going to kiss you again.”