"I don't read fairy books," said Judy, with a little curve of her upper lip.
"Oh," said Anne, "don't you, don't you ever read them, Judy?"
There was such wonder, almost horror, in her tone that Judy laughed. "Oh, I don't read much," she said. "There is so much else to do, and books are a bore."
Anne looked at her with a little puzzled stare. "Don't you like books—really?" she asked, incredulously.
"I hate them," said Judy calmly.
Before Anne could recover from the shock of such a statement, the Judge waved the young people away.
"Run along, run along," he ordered, "I want to talk to Mrs. Batcheller, you show Judy around a bit, Anne."
"Anne can set the table for lunch," said the little grandmother. "Of course you'll stay, you and Judy. Take Judy with you, Anne."
Belinda and Becky Sharp followed the two girls into the dining-room.
Becky perched herself on the wide window-sill in the sunshine, and
Belinda sat at Judy's feet and blinked up at her.
"Belinda is awfully spoiled," said Anne, to break the stiffness, as she spread the table with a thin old cloth, "but she is such a dear we can't help it."