"Oh, well, you"ll probably have a chance to see it while we"re here,"
and Alicia began taking down her hair. "Now, girls, let"s get to bed, for I"m jolly well tired out. But I foresee these poky evenings right along, don"t you? We"ll have to cram a lot of fun into our days, if the evenings are to be spent watching an elderly gentleman stalking around thus." And then Alicia gave a very good imitation of the way Mr. Forbes walked around. She didn"t ridicule him; she merely burlesqued his manner as he paused to speak to them in his funny, abrupt way.
"What are you, my dear?" she said, looking at Dolly. "Are you a specimen I can use in my collection? No? Are you a fashionable b.u.t.terfly? I say, Bernice," she suddenly broke off, "why was he so curious about the way we live at home, and who brings us up?"
"I don"t know; and anyway, he knew how long our mothers have been dead and who takes care of us. Why did he ask those things over and over?"
"I think he"s a bit absent-minded. Half the time he was thinking of matters far removed from this charming quartette of bewitching beauties. Well, it"s up to us to make our own good time. I move we corral the big limousine for to-morrow morning and go in search of adventure."
"To the Metropolitan?" suggested Dolly.
"Yes, if you like, though I"d rather go to the shops," and Alicia gathered up her hairpins to depart. Her long light hair hung round her shoulders, and she pushed it back as she affectionately kissed Dolly and Dotty good-night. "You are sure two darlings!" she said emphatically.
CHAPTER V
GOING ABOUT
Four smiling, eager girls trooped down to breakfast the next morning, and found Mrs. Berry awaiting them. She presided at the table, and they learned that she would always do so at breakfast and luncheon, though she did not dine with them.
"Uncle Jeff says we may go to a matinee to-day," said Alicia, delightedly. "Will you see about the tickets, Mrs. Berry? Uncle said Mr. Fenn would get them if you asked him to."
"Yes, my dear. And what are your plans for the morning? Do you want the car?"
"Yes, indeed," said Bernice. "We"re going to the Museum and I don"t know where else."
"To the Library, if we have time," suggested Dolly. "I want to see all the places of interest."
"Places of interest never interest me," declared Alicia. "I think they"re poky."
"All right," returned Dolly, good-naturedly, "I"ll go wherever you like."
"Now, don"t be so ready to give in, Doll," cautioned Bernice. "You have as much right to your way as Alicia has to hers."
"No, I haven"t," and Dolly smiled brightly; "this is the house of Alicia"s uncle, and not mine."
"Well, he"s my uncle, too, and what I say goes, as much as Alicia"s commands."
"There, there, girls, don"t quarrel," said Mrs. Berry, in her amiable way. "Surely you can all be suited. There are two cars, you know, and if you each want to go in a different direction, I"ll call taxi-cabs for you."
Dolly and Dotty stared at this new lavishness, and Dotty said, quickly, "Oh, no, don"t do that! We all want to be together, wherever we go. And I think, as Dolly does, that Bernice and Alicia must choose, for they belong here and we"re guests."
"You"re two mighty well-behaved little guests," and Mrs. Berry beamed at them. "Well, settle it among yourselves. Now, what matinee do you want to go to? I"ll order tickets for you."
"Will you go with us, Mrs. Berry?" asked Dolly.
"No, child. I hope you"ll let me off. You girls are old enough to go alone in the daytime, and Kirke will take you and come to fetch you home. Now, what play?"
"I want to see "The La.s.s and the Lascar"; that"s a jolly thing, I hear," said Alicia, as no one else suggested anything.
"Musical?" asked Bernice.
"Yes," said Mrs. Berry, "it"s a comic opera, and a very good one. I"ve seen it, and I"m sure you girls will enjoy it. I"ll order seats for that. Be sure to be home for luncheon promptly at one, so you can get ready for the theatre."
"I can"t believe it all," whispered Dotty, pinching Dolly"s arm, as they ran upstairs to prepare for their morning"s trip. "Think of our going to all these places in one day!"
"And six days more to come!" added Dolly. "Oh, it is too gorgeous!"
Arrayed in warm coats and furs, the laughing quartette got into the big car, and George, the polite footman, adjusted the robes, and asked their destination.
"To the Metropolitan Museum, first," said Alicia, unselfishly.
"Oh," cried Dolly, with sparkling eyes, "are we really going there first! How good of you, Alicia!"
And from the moment they entered the vestibule of the great museum, Dolly was enthralled with what she saw. Like one in a trance, she walked from room to room, drinking in the beauty or strangeness of the exhibits. She ignored the catalogues, merely gazing at the pictures or curios with an absorbed attention that made her oblivious to all else.
"Watch her," said Alicia, nudging Dotty. "She doesn"t even know where she is! Just now, she"s back in a.s.syria with the people that wore that old jewellery!"
Sure enough Dolly was staring into a case of antique bracelets and earrings of gold and jewels. She moved along the length of the case, noting each piece, and fairly sighing with admiration and wonder.
"My gracious! isn"t she the antiquarian!" exclaimed Alicia. "Look here, old Professor Wiseacre, what dynasty does this junk belong to?"
Dolly looked up with a vacant stare.
"Come back to earth!" cried Alicia, shaking with laughter. "Come back to the twentieth century! We mourn our loss!"
"Yes, come back, Dollums," said Dotty. "There are other rooms full of stuff awaiting your approval."
Dolly laughed. "Oh, you girls don"t appreciate What you"re seeing. Just think! Women wore these very things! Real, live women!"
"Well, they"re not alive now," said Bernice, "and we are. So give us the pleasure of your company. Say, Dolly, some day you come up here all alone by yourself, and prowl around--"
"Oh, I"d love to! I"ll do just that. And then I won"t feel that I"m delaying you girls. Where do you want to go now?"
"Anywhere out of this old museum," said Alicia, a little pettishly.
"You"ve had your way, Dotty, now it"s only fair I should have mine.
We"ve about an hour left; let"s go to the shops."
"Yes, indeed," and Dolly spoke emphatically. "I didn"t realise that I was being a selfish old piggy-wig!"
"And you"re not," defended Bernice. "We all wanted to come here, but, well, you see, Dolly, you do dawdle."
"But it"s such a wonder-place!" and Dolly gazed longingly backward as they left the antiquities. "And there are rooms we haven"t even looked into yet."
"Dozens of "em," a.s.sented Alicia. "But not this morning, my chickabiddy! I must flee to the busy marts and see what"s doing in the way of tempting bargains."
"All right," and Dolly put her arm through Alicia"s. "What are you going to buy?"