"Yes, this is your room," said Julia Cloud kindly, stepping in and
moving a chair a little farther from the bed, that there might be room
for the girl's trunk. "You can put your trunk right here, I should
think; and here is your closet," swinging open the closet door and
showing a plenitude of hooks and hangers, "and that is your bathroom."
She pushed back the crash curtain that shut off the tiny bathroom, and
stood back smiling. But the girl was not looking at her. She had cast
one wild look around, and then her eyes had been riveted on the little
vase on her bureau, containing a single late rose that Leslie had
found blooming in the small garden at the rear, and put there for good
luck, she said. Could it be that any one had cared to pick a flower
for a servant's room? Her eyes filled with tears; she dropped her
bundles on the floor, and came over to where her new mistress stood.
"Oh!" she said in a choked voice. "If you-all is goin' to treat me
like comp'ny, I'se jest goin' to wuk my fingahs to de bone for
youse!"
After the advent of Cherry things began to settle down into something
like routine. The inn was abandoned entirely, and each meal was a
festive occasion. Cherry took kindly to the cooking-lessons that Julia
Cloud knew well how to give. Light, wonderful white bread came forth
from the white-enamel gas-range oven, sweet, rich, nutty loaves of
brown bread, even more delectable. Waffles and muffins and pancakes
vied with one another to make one meal better than another; apple
dumpling, cherry pie, and blackberry roly-poly varied with chocolate
steamed pudding, lemon custard, and velvet whip made the desserts an
eagerly awaited surprise.
Leslie hovered over everything new that was made, and wanted to have a
hand in it. Each day she learned some new and wholesome fact about
housekeeping, and seemed to take to the knowledge readily. Her first
attempt at real cooking was learning to make bread; and, when she
succeeded so well that Allison thought it was his aunt's baking, she
declared her intention of making it once a week just to keep her hand
in.
Allison had said no more about Christian Endeavor; and, when Thursday
afternoon came, he asked his aunt to ride to the city after a few
little articles that were still needed to make the house complete.
They had a pleasant trip, and Julia Cloud entirely forgot that the
young people had been asked to attend the committee meeting that
evening. Perhaps Allison was waiting for her to speak about it; for he
looked at his watch uneasily several times, and glanced back at his
aunt suspiciously; but she sat serenely enjoying the ride, and said
nothing. At last, just as they were nearing home he burst forth with,
"Cloudy, do you really think we ought to go to that bl-looming thing
to-night?"
Julia Cloud lifted quiet eyes and smiled.
"I didn't say you ought to go; did I, dear?"
"Well, yes, you sorta did, Cloudy."
Julia Cloud shook her head.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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