The Holmes were two school friends of the Orlingburys, who had come to London to study music and were living in a boarding-house in Bayswater.
“Whom will you invite, Marion?” inquired Ada.
“My cousin Madge, I think.”
“Yes, do,” said Jennie. “I want to hear all about her visit to Brighton. Can I ask Dora Hopwood? She is in town. I saw her to-day; she came to my class to see me.”
Dora Hopwood had been in training at the cookery school at the same time as Jane, and the latter looked forward with a thrill of pride to showing her prowess to “one who knew.”
“That will be as many as we can seat, then,” said Marion. “If we invite any more, Abigail will have too much to do, and get flurried. Jennie, will you make a Charlotte Russe by way of a sweet? It can be made the day before.”
“Yes, I can make that in the evening when I get home, and during the day I can make a Victoria sandwich—we shall want another sweet.”
“Let me exhibit one of my few accomplishments,” said Ada laughing, “and fry some fish. Would sole be too dear, Marion? We shall have to be very economical to make up for this extravagance.”
Marion said she thought they might afford sole for once, so that was settled, and she suggested some fillet of veal by way of a meat course.
“Yes,” said Jane eagerly. “Let us have a nice little joint of fillet of veal, with mushrooms and pretty little button tomatoes round it.”