anything--that's about the worst I can say of her. There ain't anything
bad about her--oh, no. Sometimes I've been driven to wish there was, if
I do say it! She's just what I should call one of them characterless
sort of folks--kind of soft and silly, like a silk sofy cushion without
enough stuffing in it. Always talking, she is, without saying anything
in particular. I don't know about the children. They were little things
when I saw 'em last. What do you say they look like?"

"The girl is about fourteen, I should think," said Celia, getting out
tray and napkins. "She's rather a pretty child--doesn't look very
strong. The boy is quite a handsome fellow, of nine or ten. Oh, it's all
right, of course, and I've no doubt Doctor Churchill will be glad to see
any relatives of his family. Only--if it needn't have happened just
to-day!"

"I know how you feel," said the housekeeper. "Here, let me fix that
tray, Miss Celia; you've done enough. I suppose we've got to feed 'em
and give 'em a room. Ain't it too bad to put them in that nice spare
room? No, I don't believe the doctor'll be powerful pleased to see 'em,
though I don't suppose he'll let on he ain't. Trouble is, she's a
stayer--one of the visiting kind, you know. Mis' Churchill, doctor's
mother, used to have her there by the month. _There_ was what you may
call a genuine lady, Miss Celia. She'd never let a guest feel he wasn't
welcome, and I guess Andy--I guess the doctor's pretty much like her.
Well, well!"

Mrs. Fields sighed, and Celia echoed the sigh. Nevertheless, the little
hint about Doctor Churchill's mother took hold.

Celia knew what Southern hospitality meant. If Mrs. Peyton had been
accustomed to that, it must be a matter of pride not to let her feel
that Northern homes were cold and comfortless places by comparison. By
the time she had shown the visitors to Charlotte's guest-room, and had
made up a bed for the boy on a wide couch there, Celia had worked off a
little of her regret. Nevertheless, when Jeff and Just heard the news,
their disgust roused her to fresh rebellion.

"I call that pretty nervy," Jeff declared, indignantly, "to walk in on
people like this, without a word of warning! Nobody but an idiot would
expect people just coming home from their honeymoon to want to find
their house filled up with cousins."

"Oh, Andy's relatives'll turn up now," said Just, cynically. "People he
never heard of. I'll bet he won't know this woman till he's int