gly:

"Will you mind coming to the kitchen, Guy? I am afraid someone will hear us
if I take you anywhere else, and I don't want the rattle of dishes to
betray us."

"Well, this is enough to make any fellow selfish," as he followed Dexie out
to the kitchen, and closed the door softly behind him. "You must be a
fairy, to conjure such a dainty breakfast in this short time. No one will
hear us here."

The appetizing odor of coffee filled the air, and the most fastidious
person could have found no fault with the dainty little table and its
appointments, with plates laid for two.

"Now, you really must be quiet, Guy," trying to escape from his arms. "Just
see how you have mussed my hair!"

"And you haven't mussed mine at all, I suppose! I say, Dexie, what if
Gussie should catch us here?" "Which, fortunately, is not likely; but what
_would_ she say? The impropriety of our conduct would be shocking," and a
musical laugh sounded through the room.

"I should plead extenuating circumstances, dearest. One does not have the
delightful experience of last night but once in a lifetime, and why should
we not make the most of our pleasures? However, I can thank your father for
this extended bliss."

"The extended bliss of eating in the kitchen!" and she smiled
mischievously, as she handed him a cup of coffee. "Is this your first peep
into my domain?"

"Yes, and I think it the pleasantest room in the house. Who planned it, and
invented such contrivances?" glancing approvingly at the adjustable shelves
which Dexie disclosed by shoving aside what appeared to be a panel in the
wall. "We must have our kitchen just like this."

Ignoring his last remark, except by a blush, Dexie answered:

"I have to thank papa for the liberty I enjoy in this room; but for him I
should have had the usual bare walls and no conveniences whatever. If you
had seen all the newspaper articles I read up, giving the experience of
practical housekeepers, you would not wonder at the change which, with the
help of a carpenter, I made in this room. I am monarch of all I survey in
this part of the house, as mamma does not care how many experiments go on
here as long as everything is satisfactory that comes out of it."

All pleasant things come to an end, and the early breakfast in the kitchen
was no exception to the rule; but it remained a bright spot in the memory
of both, and in after-years was often referred to.

A few minutes later Guy left the house, and,