“Don’t pity her any more girls,” cried Natalie. “She’s dead in love with him, and hasn’t missed us nor our commencement one little minute. She walked straight into the land of romance that day when she left us, and hasn’t thought of us since. I wonder she ever remembered to invite us to the wedding. But I’m not surprised either. If he’s half as stunning as his picture, he must be a pippin. I’m dying to meet him! What kind of a prune is his mother? I think she must be horrid to demand your presence at the station to meet her two hours before the ceremony. I must say I’d make a kick at that.” “Oh,” said Cornelia, a haughty color coming into her cheeks. “You don’t understand. She didn’t demand! She doesn’t even know. Arthur and I are surprising her. Arthur just sent a telegram to the train for her to get off at the West Philadelphia station. She expected to go on to Broad Street. Oh! she is the dearest mother; wait till you see her.” A tap at the door interrupted her, and Louise entered shyly. “Nellie, dear, I hate to interrupt you; but that man, that Mr. Ragan, has come; and he’s so anxious to see you just a minute mother said I better tell you so you could send him down a message. It’s something about the curtains for his house. I think he wants birds on them, or else he doesn’t, I don’t know which. He’s so afraid you’ve already ordered the material, and he wants it the way you said first, he says.” “That’s all right, darling; I think I’ll just run down and see him a minute; he’s so anxious about his little house, and it will reassure him if I explain about it. Tell him to wait just a minute till I slip on my dress.” A chorus of protests arose from the bed. “For mercy’s sake, Cornie, you’re surely not going down to see a man on business _now_! What on earth? Did you really get to be an interior decorator, after all? You don’t _mean_ it! I thought you were just kidding when you wrote about it. What do you mean? They’re only poor people. Well, what do you care? You’re surely not going on with such things after you’re married?” Cornelia, flinging the masses of her hair into a lovely coil, and fastening the snaps of her little blue organdie, smiled again dreamily.