“May I take a bunch of grapes to school, Deena?”
She was about to give a cheerful consent, when he defeated his own ends by adding:
“None of the other boys have hothouse grapes; it makes ’em think a lot of me. I guess they know where they come from, too!”
“In those circumstances, certainly not,” she answered, indignantly. “You can eat all you like at home.”
“Well, I call that low-down mean,” he said, stabbing another sausage, “and you gettin’ all the fruit and flowers from Mr. French’s place sent to you every day. I wish Polly and Ben were there still—they wouldn’t begrudge me a little fruit.”
Polly and Ben had taken Stephen’s place for the summer, during his protracted absence, and had but recently returned to New York.
“Polly and Ben would despise your snobbishness just as I do; besides, I do not approve of your taking eatables to school,” she added, disingenuously, for her objection was to furnishing food for Harmouth gossip—not to Dicky.
“Oh, pshaw!” he exclaimed. “As if I didn’t know why you won’t let me take ’em! Mr. French will give me anything I ask for when he gets home—that’s one comfort. Did you know he may be here any day? The man who brought the flowers told me so yesterday.”
Deena’s complexion flushed a lively pink, or else it was the reflection from the wood fire, leaping in tongues of flame behind the tall brass fender. She certainly looked singularly girlish as she sat behind the array of Ponsonby breakfast silver, her severe black frock, with the transparent bands of white at throat and wrists, only serving to mark her youthful freshness. Her beauty was of little consequence to her brother, who was busy considering the advantages that might accrue to himself from Stephen’s return.
“When Mr. French went away, he said I could ride his saddle horse, and though I’ve been there half a dozen times since Ben left, that old beast of a coachman won’t let me inside the stable. Will you tell Mr. French when he comes home what an old puddin’ head he’s got to look after his horses? The man ought to be kicked out!”