The two girls heaved sighs of relief. It was evident that they had
entertained doubts as to her reception of the party. Jacqueline walked
beside her, rubbing a caressing cheek against her shoulder--a trick she
had learned from the horses among whom she spent much of her time.

"You see, Mummy, Blossom thought it was high time for us to be having
some beaux."

"Good Heavens--not yet!" murmured Kate.

"At my age, you had several babies," Jemima reminded her, firmly; and
Kate could not deny it.

"So we consulted our godfather," continued Jacqueline. "It seemed to us
we had at last found a use for a godfather--besides candy, and birthday
presents, and things like that, which don't really count. We asked him
if he couldn't find us some nice young professors at the
university--attractive, dancing ones, you know, not old fossils like
him."

"Pleasant for James," murmured Kate. "He must be very little over
forty!"

"But imagine him dancing," cried Jacqueline, and dismissed him from her
world with a gesture. "So Jemima suggested to him that the surest way of
having you alone, the next time he came, was to bring some young
professors to amuse us. And," she finished dramatically, "here he comes,
the Ark simply bursting with young professors!"

There was a loud honk at the door.

Mrs. Kildare fled up the stairs. Jemima, following her, said in a low
voice, "You don't really mind, then--about the party?"

Something odd in the girl's voice arrested her. "Mind? Why should I
mind, dear?"

"I don't know. I thought perhaps--you see you never do have any of your
old friends here, and--and sometimes that seems to me queer. You must
have had so many friends there, in Lexington, a woman like you. Or were
they all beaux?"

Kate's heart beat hard. It was not the first time the girl's observant
intelligence had frightened her, nor did the wistfulness of the query
escape notice.

"Yes, I had many friends, and beaux, too--just as you will have, dear,"
she said steadily. "But you see I have been too busy with the farm and
such things, since your father died, to keep up with people. That is
all."

Jemima looked immeasurably relieved. "I knew you would give us friends
some day, Mother, just as you have given us everything else. Only, I--I
got a little tired of waiting."

"Did you, dear?" said her mother sadly. "I thought you were quite
happy."

"We are, of course. But you see, we've _got_ to get married some day,
Jackie and I