"You ought to see Marjorie go. Why, she rides off on my machine like a breeze, though she is so short compared to me that her feet don't go anywhere near the pedals when they are down. What do you do all day?"
"I have lessons with Miss Rice, my governess, and I go to walk, and play in the garden—"
"Have you got a garden? That is jolly. I have one too, and so has Marjorie; but hers is a great deal better than mine. She spends more time over it, weeding and all that. I say life is too short for weeding, but Marjorie loves to grub."
This unknown Cousin Marjorie must be a very superior person, thought Elizabeth. She appeared to surpass the rest of the world in everything. Elizabeth would put what was to her an important question.
"Is Marjorie pretty?"
"Pretty? Oh, I don't know. I never thought much about it. No, I don't believe Marjorie is pretty. Her hair is too straight, and hangs all in a shag, and she has a turned-up nose. I call her 'Pug' half the time. But she is a jolly one, Marjorie is," said the admiring cousin.
Elizabeth began to feel a strong liking for the new-comer. A boy who was so fond of his cousin, and that cousin a girl, must be very nice, she thought. She did hope that as he was her own brother he would grow to like her a little. And then an idea occurred to her.
She could ask Valentine all the questions she wished, and probably he would not mind. She could tell him of her trials about the Brady family, and of her hopes of their father's return. She could even consult him in regard to the skeleton in the Herrick family closet.
She was glad he had come.