“It’s early,” he said, showing them the stage in one of the recreation halls where they would play, “and dinner won’t be served until six o’clock. Come along and I’ll show you your dining room. We have several, and I don’t want you to get lost! Then please do anything you’d like to amuse yourselves. We want you to have a good time!”
“How about some Ping-pong, Peggy?” Chris asked after Mr. Vincent had left them.
“I’d love it,” Peggy said, “but I wish we could look at the stage again first—Mr. Vincent took us through so quickly.”
“Don’t you ever think of anything besides the stage, Peggy?” Alison asked waspishly. “Really, it gets a little boring after a while!” She turned and left the group in a sudden huff.
“What’s the matter with her?” Danny asked wonderingly. “I thought she was all a-flutter about playing at the Manor.”
“Maybe she was all a-flutter about playing before the show,” Rita said softly with a knowing look at Peggy.
Peggy suddenly realized what she meant. Alison was disappointed that Chris had asked Peggy instead of her. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she thought wearily, “how could Alison possibly be upset over a little thing like a game of Ping-pong!” When a group of people lived so closely together, Peggy was beginning to realize, little things could cause undue friction. A word or a glance could be magnified out of all proportion. Hadn’t she even been a little guilty of that herself when Alison had criticized her performance?
“Your serve, Miss Lane,” Chris reminded her. “Where are you anyway—off in a dream?”
“Yes,” Peggy smiled, “I guess I was!” She couldn’t help observing how handsome Chris was with his wonderful tan and his blond hair gleaming in the sun. He did look like a movie star, and several people stopped to watch them play together. Peggy felt almost ashamed to realize that she was proud to be seen with him. “And a minute ago you were condemning Alison for the same thing!” she chided herself fiercely. “I think it’s about time you had a long talk with yourself, Peggy Lane!” She slammed the ball hard, and it hit the far corner of the table, out of Chris’s reach.
“Good play!” he cried. “That’s it.”