Black, White and Gray | Page 5

"What do you think of the name of Smut?"
"I don't like it a bit," said Maisie.
They had got no further towards a name by breakfast time. All those which Maisie liked, Dennis thought silly, and those which Dennis proposed, Maisie thought ugly, so it promised to be a difficult matter to settle. As soon as they were seated at breakfast, however, Aunt Katharine made a suggestion which put the black kitten out of their heads for the present.
"Children," she said, "I am going to drive over to Haughton Park to lunch this morning. If you like, you may both go with me and see Philippa."
There was a moment's pause, and then Dennis asked seriously:
"Shall you go anywhere besides, Aunt Katharine, or just straight there?"
"I shall only stop at Mrs Broadbent's on my way," she replied, "to ask about so some fowls."
The children looked at each other, but made no answer.
"Well," said their aunt, smiling, "I dare say you'd like to talk it over together. I shall start at twelve o'clock, and if you decide to go, you must be ready to the minute, for I shall not wait for you. Do just as you like about it."
To go or not to go to Haughton was always a matter which required thought. There were things against it, and things for it. In Maisie's opinion, there was a great deal to be liked in the visit. There was a large, beautiful house, much larger than Fieldside, and a park with deer in it: there were all sorts of dolls and toys and pretty things which she enjoyed playing with, and--there was Philippa. Philippa was perhaps a doubtful pleasure, for if she was in a cross mood she was not agreeable, but there was always the chance that she would be pleasant, and then she and Maisie got on very well together with their dolls. Dennis was disposed to be rather scornful about going to Haughton, but in his case there was the attraction of the drive, when Aunt Katharine sometimes let him hold the reins, and there was the chance of her stopping at somewhere interesting on the way. Mrs Broadbent's would be better than nothing to-day, though it was not his favourite farmhouse.
"I don't think I want to go much," he said, as soon as he and Maisie had reached the play-room. "Aunt Trevor's sure to have a headache, and then we shall have to be as quiet as mice."
"P'raps she'll let us go out with Philippa," said Maisie.
"Not without Miss Mervyn comes too," said Dennis. "I don't care about that--it's no fun. She's always saying, `You mustn't do this, or you mustn't do that.'"
"Well," said Maisie, "should I go with Aunt Katharine then, and you stay at home?"
But this did not suit Dennis at all. It would never do for Maisie to come back and describe all manner of enjoyments which he had not shared. It would be better to go and grumble than to be left at home alone.
"Oh, I'll go," he said, condescendingly. And so it came to pass that when the ponies, Jack and Jill, came round, the children were both waiting in the hall, fully prepared for the drive. As she drew on her driving gloves, Aunt Katharine gave a glance at them to see that they were warmly wrapped up, for it was a fresh day in early spring.
"Jump in, children, and let Mary tuck you well up; it's rather cold," she said.--"Give me the reins, Tom. All right."
Then came a dash down the short avenue, with Tom running before to open the gate, and then they were in the village street, where Jack and Jill always thought it right to plunge and shy a little. From their seat at the back Dennis and Maisie nodded at their various acquaintances as they passed, for they knew nearly every one. There was Mrs Gill at the post-office, standing at her open door; there was Mr Couples, who kept the shop; and there was Dr Price just mounting his horse, with his two terriers, Snip and Snap, eager to follow. Above this little cluster of houses stood the church and the vicarage close together, on a gently rising hill; and the rest of the village, including two or three large farms, was scattered about here and there, with wide spaces between.
"Why are you going to Mrs Broadbent's, Aunt Katharine?" asked Dennis, as they turned sharply to the right.
"Because I want to ask her to let me have a setting of Minorcas," replied his aunt, "and no one else keeps them."
"And we might ask her, you know," said Maisie, "whether she'd like one of the kittens. I should think that would be a good home, shouldn't you?"
"P'raps she doesn't like cats," said Dennis carelessly. "We've got three weeks,