“Why—why, no, ma’am,” stammered Laurie. “I’d be pleased to.” He exchanged meaning glances with Polly. Then Polly asked: “Why don’t you stay now, Laurie, if Miss Comfort would like you to? We’ll leave one of the umbrellas.”
Laurie viewed her in strong disapproval but accepted the situation. “I don’t need any umbrella, though,” he said sadly. “I’ve got my coat, and it isn’t raining so hard now.” He and Miss Comfort watched the others depart, and then she motioned to a chair.
“Won’t you sit down, please?” she asked. Laurie sat down, but on the extreme edge of the chair as though to lessen the space between him and the door. “You see,” Miss Comfort went on after a pause, “I’ve wanted to ask you ever since Wednesday how you were doing all this, but I didn’t like to when the others were around. Now I do wish you’d tell me, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Laurie gulped. “What—was it you wanted to know, ma’am?”
“Why, who has—has met the expense of all the changes and improvements you have made here, Mr. Laurie.”
“Oh,” said Laurie. “Oh! Well, you see, Miss Comfort, we haven’t done so much after all. Now, you take that hanging lamp. Mrs. Deane had that and wasn’t using it—”
“Yes, I know about the lamp,” interrupted Miss Comfort gently, “but there’s that sink and the awning and—and so many, many things.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Laurie glanced longingly at the doorway. “Well, now, you’d be surprised how little things like that cost. You take that stove-piping, Miss Comfort. Maybe you thought that was new pipe, but it wasn’t. It was second-hand. We just shined it up, you see!” Laurie waved an all-encompassing hand. “Same way with the other things—more or less.”
“That sink isn’t second hand, is it?” she asked.
“Well, no, ma’am, not the sink.” Laurie smiled engagingly. “But sinks aren’t expensive. I was surprised, honest, I was, ma’am, when we got the price on that! Why, seems like things don’t cost half what they did a couple of years ago!”