he adopted different tactics. He took advantage of my catching my
foot in the lace of my gown to pass me, and to stand with his
back against the door.

"You're not going until you hear me, Kit," he declared miserably.
"In the first place, for all you are down on me, is it my fault?
Honestly, now IS IT MY FAULT?"

I refused to speak.

"I was coming home to be miserable alone," he went on, "and--oh,
I know you meant well, Kit; but YOU asked all these crazy people
here."

"Perhaps you will give me credit for some things," I said
wearily. "I did NOT give Takahiro smallpox, for instance, and--if
you will permit me to mention the fact--Aunt Selina is not MY
Aunt Selina."

"That's what I wanted to speak to you about," Jimmy went on
wretchedly, trying not to look at me. "You see, when they were
rowing so about who would get the breakfast--I never saw such a
lot of people; half of them never touch breakfast, but of course
now they want all kinds of things--when they were talking, Aunt
Selina said she knew YOU would get it, being the hostess, and
responsible, besides knowing where things are kept." He had fixed
his eyes on the orchids, and he looked shrunken, actually
shrunken. "I thought," he finished, "you might give me a few
pointers now, and I could come down in the morning, and--and fuss
up something, coffee and so on. I would say you did it! Oh, hang