SIX INVITATIONS
June came, and found the Dorrance Domain in full working order. The
experiment seemed to be proving a complete success; and the six people
who lived in the big hotel were collectively and individually happy.
Grandma Dorrance realized that all was well, and gave the children
absolute liberty to do as they pleased from morning to night, feeling
grateful that the circumstances permitted her to do this. Besides
enjoying their happiness, the dear old lady was quite happy and
contented on her own account. The delightful bracing air made her feel
better and stronger; and the entire freedom from care or responsibility
quieted her nerves.
Dorothy was complete mistress of the house. The responsibilities of this
position had developed many latent capabilities of her nature, and she
was daily proving herself a sensible, womanly girl, with a real talent
for administration, and much executive ability. She was very kind to
Tessie, realizing that the Irish, girl had no friends or companions of
her own class around her; but Dorothy also preserved a certain dignified
attitude, which became the relation of mistress and maid. She ordered
the household affairs with good judgment, and was rapidly becoming an
expert cook. This part of the domestic work specially appealed to her,
and she thoroughly enjoyed concocting elaborate dishes for the
delectation of her family. Sometimes these confections did not turn out
quite right; but Dorothy was not discouraged, and cheerfully threw away
the uneatable messes, and tried the same difficult recipes again, until
she had conquered them.
The flaw in Dorothy's character was an over self-confidence; but this
was offset by her sunny good-humored disposition, and she gaily accepted
the situation, when the others teased her about her failures.
The days passed like beautiful dreams. The family rose late, as there
was no special reason why they should rise early. The children spent
much time on the water in their rowboats, and also renewed their
acquaintance with Captain Kane, who took them frequently for a little
excursion in the _Mamie Mead_.
But perhaps best of all, Dorothy liked the hours she spent lying in a
hammock, reading or day-dreaming.
She was fond of books, and had an ambition to write poetry herself. This
was not a romantic tendency, but rather a desire to express in
beautiful, happy language the joy of living that was in her heart.
She rarely spoke of this ambition to the others, for they did not
sympathize with it, and frankly expressed very positive opinions that
she was not a poet and never would be. Indeed, they said that Fairy had
more imagination and poetic temperament then Dorothy.
Dorothy was willing to agree to this, for she in no way over-estimated
her own talent,--she was merely acutely conscious of her great desire to
write things.
So often for a whole afternoon she would lie in a hammock under the
trees, looking across the lake at the hills and the sky, and
assimilating the wonderful beauty of it all. This dreamy side of
Dorothy's nature seemed to be in sharp contrast to her practical
energetic power of work; it also seemed incongruous with her intense
love of fun and her enjoyment of noisy, rollicking merriment.
But these different sides reacted on each other, and combined with
Dorothy's natural frankness and honesty, made a sweet and wholesome
combination. Had Dorothy been an only child, she might have been given
too much to solitude and introspection; but by the counteracting
influences of her diverting family, and her care of their welfare, she
was saved from such a fate.
One day she was suddenly impressed with a conviction that Grandma
Dorrance must often feel lonely, and that something ought to be done to
give her some special pleasure.
"We all have each other," said Dorothy to the other children, "but
grandma can't go chasing around with us, and she ought to have somebody
to amuse her, at least for a time. So I think it would be nice to invite
Mrs. Thurston up here to spend a week with us."
Mrs. Thurston was a lifelong friend of Mrs. Dorrance's, and moreover was
a lady greatly liked by the Dorrance children.
"It would be very nice," said grandma, much gratified by Dorothy's
thoughtfulness; "I don't really feel lonely, you know; it isn't that.
But I would enjoy having Mrs. Thurston here for a time, and I am sure
she would enjoy it too."
"Hooray for Mrs. Thurston!" shouted Leicester; "and say, Dot, I'd like
to have company too. S'pose we ask Jack Harris to come up for a few
days. I'm the only boy around these parts, and I declare I'd like to
have a chum. Meaning no slight to my revered sisters."
"I want Gladys Miller," said Fairy. "The twins have each other, and
Dorothy has grandma, but I don't seem to have any little playmate, 'cept
Mrs. Hickox, and she's so supernumerated."
They all laughed at this, but Dorothy said, "Why, we'll each invite one
guest. That's a fine idea! There's plenty of room, and as to the extra
work, if we all do a little more each day, it won't amount to much. I'll
ask Edith Putnam, and Lilian, of course, you'll want May Lewis."
"Yes, of course," cried Lilian; "I'd love to have May up here. I never
once thought of it before."
"I'll tell you what!" exclaimed Leicester. "Now here's a really
brilliant idea. Let Tessie invite some friend of hers too, and then she
can help you girls with the work."
"That _is_ a good idea," said Grandma Dorrance, approvingly. "We'd have
to have extra help, with so many more people, and if Tessie has any
friend who would like to come for a week, it would be very satisfactory.
Of course we will pay her wages."
"Wowly-wow-wow!" exclaimed Leicester; "won't we have rackets! I say,
Dot, give Jack that other tower room, right over mine, will you? He'd
like it first-rate."
"Yes, and we'll give Mrs. Thurston that big pleasant room next to
grandma's. Tessie and I will begin to-day to get the rooms ready."
"Hold on, sis, don't go too fast; you haven't had any acceptances yet to
the invitations you haven't yet sent!"
"No, but they'll all come fast enough; we'll each write to-day, and
we'll tell the people to get together, and all come up in a bunch," said
Lilian. "I know May Lewis's mother wouldn't let her come alone, but with
Mrs. Thurston, it will be all right."
"And Captain Kane can bring the whole crowd up from the station," said
Leicester; "and we'll row down to the lock to meet them. And we'll have
flags and bonfires and Chinese lanterns for a celebration. There's lots
of Chinese lanterns up in one of the storerooms,--we'll just have to get
some candles. Jiminy! won't it be fun!"
"Perhaps it will be too hard on you, Dorothy," said Mrs. Dorrance;
"doubling the family means a great deal of extra cooking, you know."
"Oh, that will be all right, grannymother; and perhaps the lady Tessie
invites will be able to help out with the cooking."
"Gladys's room must be next to mine," said Fairy, "so we can be
sociarbubble. I shall take her to see Mrs. Hickox the first thing, and
she'll proberly give us two gum-drops apiece."
Fairy's friendship with Mrs. Hickox was a standing joke in the family,
and that lady's far from extravagant gifts of confectionery caused great
hilarity among the younger Dorrances.
Full of their new project, they all flew to write their letters of
invitation, and within an hour the six missives were ready, and
Leicester volunteered to row over to Woodville with them. Tessie was
delighted at the prospect, when Dorothy explained it to her.
"Shure, I'll ask me mother," she exclaimed; "she's afther bein' a fine
cook, Miss Dorothy, an' yez'll niver regret the day she comes. Indade,
she can turn her hand to annythin'."
Although Tessie was a superior type of Irish girl, and usually spoke
fairly good English, when excited, she always dropped into a rich
brogue which greatly delighted the children.
"Just the thing, Tessie; write for your mother at once, or I'll write
for you, if you like, and I hope she'll come up with the rest of them."
"Shure, she will, Miss Dorothy; she lives all alone an' she can come as
aisy as not. An' she's that lonesome for me, you wouldn't believe! Och,
but she'll be glad of the chance."
Feeling sure that most if not all of their guests would accept the
invitations, Dorothy, Lilian and Tessie,--more or less hindered by
Fairy, who tried hard to help,--spent the afternoon arranging the
bedrooms. It was a delightful task, for everything that was needed
seemed to be at hand in abundance. The hotel when built, had been most
lavishly and elaborately furnished, even down to the smallest details.
The successive proprietors had apparently appreciated the value of the
appointments, and had kept them in perfect order and repair. Moreover,
as their successive seasons had been a continuous series of failures,
and few guests had stayed at the hotel, there had been little wear and
tear.
Although Mrs. Hickox had not lost her grudging demeanor regarding her
eggs and vegetables, yet Fairy was able to wheedle some flowers from her
now and then, with the result that the Dorrance Domain had assumed a
most attractive and homelike general effect.
Of course, the individual rooms showed the taste and hobbies of their
several owners; while the large parlor which the family had come to use
as a general living-room had entirely lost all resemblance to a hotel
parlor, and had become the crowning glory of the Dorrance Domain. The
Dorrances had a way of leaving the impress of their personality upon all
their belongings; and since the big hotel belonged to them, it had
necessarily grown to look like their home.
"I think," said Dorothy, "if they all come, it would be nicer to use the
big dining-room."
"And the little tables," cried Fairy; "two at each one, you know. Me and
Gladys at one, and Leicester and Jack at another, and grandma and----"
"Oh, no, Fairy," said grandma, "that wouldn't be nice at all. It
wouldn't even be polite. Use the big dining-room, if you wish, but let
us all sit at one table. Surely, you can find a table big enough for
ten."
"Oh, yes," cried Leicester; "there are a lot of great big round
table-tops in the storeroom. They're marked 'banquet tables'; one of
those will be just the thing."
"What do you do with a table-top, if it doesn't have any legs?" asked
Fairy. "Do you put it on the floor, and all of us sit on the floor
around it, like turkeys?"
"I suppose you mean Turks," said Leicester, instructively; "but no, we
don't arrange it just that way. We simply put the big round table-top on
top of the table we are now using, and there you are!"
"It will be beautiful," said Dorothy. "I do love a round table. You can
make it look so lovely with flowers and things. I hope they'll all
come."
Dorothy's hopes were fulfilled, and every one of the six who were
invited sent a delighted acceptance. Tessie's mother, perhaps,
expressed the most exuberant pleasure, but all seemed heartily glad to
come.
They were invited for a week, and were expected to arrive one Thursday
afternoon at about four o'clock.
Vast preparations had been made, for every one was interested especially
in one guest, and each made ready in some characteristic way.
Dorothy, as housekeeper, spent all her energies on the culinary
preparations. She delighted the heart of Mr. Bill Hodges by her generous
orders, and she and Tessie had concocted a pantry-full of good things
for the expected visitors.
Lilian had put the hotel in apple-pie order, and given finishing touches
to the guests' rooms, and Fairy had performed her part by inducing Mrs.
Hickox to let them have an extra lot of flowers. These flowers were all
of old-fashioned varieties which grew luxuriantly in Mrs. Hickox's
garden; and arranged with Lilian's exquisite taste, and by her deft
fingers, they made really lovely decorations for parlor, dining-room and
bedrooms.