"

"What do you think of where you _are_ going?" asked Norton a little
jealously. But his face cleared the next instant.

"Norton," said Matilda, "I _can't_ think of it,--not yet. It is too
good to think of all at once. I have to take part at a time. If I did
think of it, I don't know but it would seem too good to be true."

"Well it isn't," said Norton. "Now Pink, we'll fix those hyacinth and
tulip beds all right. You haven't chosen your bulbs yet. And then, when
we have planted our bulbs--I hope it is not too late yet, but I declare
I don't know!--perhaps we'll leave the winter to take care of them, and
we'll go off to New York till spring. How would you like that?"

"I don't care where I go," said Matilda,--"with you and Mrs. Laval."

"You never saw New York, did you?"

"No, never. Is it pleasanter than Briery Bank, Norton?"

"Well, not when the tulips are out, perhaps; but in the cold weather
it's jolly enough. It's queer, though."

"Queer?" repeated Matilda curiously.

"I wonder if you wouldn't think so," said Norton. "I don't mean New
York, you know; that's all right; but our house."

"I didn't know you had a house in New York," said Matilda.

"No, of course not; how should you? but now it's different. Pink, it is
very jolly!" said Norton, quitting his seat in the chimney corner and
coming down on the rug beside Matilda. "That's a good fire to roast
chestnuts."

"Is it? but we haven't any chestnuts to roast," said Matilda.

"That's another thing you don't know," said Norton. "We've got a lot of
chestnuts,--splendid ones, too. I'll fetch 'em, and we'll roast some.
It's the very best way."

Norton went off for a basket, which proved to be full of brown, plump
chestnuts, large and shining as they should be. Sitting down upon the
rug again he began to prepare some for roasting, by cutting a small bit
off one corner. Matilda picked up these bits of skin and threw them
into the fire as fast as they were cut.

"Never mind," said Norton. "We'll sweep 'em up in a heap at the end,
and make one job of it."

"But Mr. Richmond might come in."

"Well,--he has seen chestnuts before," said Norton coolly.

"I don't believe he has seen people cutting and roasting them in his
study, though."

"All right. We'll give him some."

"But what are you doing that for, Norton?"

"Did you never roast chestnuts, Pink?"

"No. We never had a fireplace, with wood, I mean, in our house."

"It's a good sort of thing to