"Oh, thank you! But do they cost much?"
"You always ask that," said Norton, laughing. "Yes, some of them do. I will tell you what I will do, Pink—and then you will be easy. I will spend twenty-five dollars on my tulip bed, and you shall spend twenty-five dollars on your hyacinth bed; and you shall say now what sorts you will have."
"Twenty-five dollars!" said Matilda. "O Norton, thank you. How nice! And I never saw a hyacinth in my life. What are they like?"
Norton was endeavouring to tell, when Mrs. Laval came upon the verandah. She came with business upon her lips, but stopped and her face changed when she saw Matilda.
"My dear child!" she said.
"Mamma," said Norton, "isn't she a brick?"
"A brick?" said Mrs. Laval, taking Matilda in her arms, and sitting down with her. "A brick! this soft, sweet, fresh delight of mine!" And as she spoke she emphasised her words with kisses. "My darling! There is nothing rough, or harsh, or stiff about you, nor anything angular, nor anything coarse; and he calls you a brick!"
"I think he means something good by it, ma'am," Matilda said, laughing.
"I don't know about the angles," said Norton. "Pink has a stiff corner now and then that I haven't been able to break off yet."
"Break off!" said Mrs. Laval, sitting with her arms round Matilda. And then they all went off into a laugh together.