Kinney was beginning again, when Marcia, who had been stealing some covert looks at him under her eye lashes, while she put together the sewing she was at work on, preparatory to going upstairs with the baby, joined Bartley in his invitation.
“You wont make us the least trouble, Mr. Kinney,” she said. “The guest-chamber is all ready, and we shall be glad to have you stay.”
Kinney must have felt the note of sincerity in her words. He hesitated, and Bartley clinched his tacit assent with a quotation: “'The chief ornament of a house is the guests who frequent it.' Who says that?”
Kinney's little blue eyes twinkled. “Old Emerson.”
“Well, I agree with him. We don't care anything about your company, Kinney; but we want you for decorative purposes.”
Kinney opened his mouth for another noiseless laugh, and said, “Well, fix it to suit yourselves.”
“I'll carry her up for you,” said Bartley to Marcia, who was stooping forward to take the baby from him, “if Mr. Kinney will excuse us a moment.”
“All right,” said Kinney.
Bartley ventured upon this bold move, because he had found that it was always best to have things out with Marcia at once, and, if she was going to take his hospitality to Kinney in bad part, he wanted to get through the trouble. “That was very nice of you, Marcia,” he said, when they were in their own room. “My invitation rather slipped out, and I didn't know how you would like it.”
“Oh, I'm very glad to have him stay. I never forget about his wanting to lend you money that time,” said Marcia, opening the baby's crib.