You see nobody was really head, though Nora and Phil both pretended they
were,--we didn't count nurse,--and each person just wanted to do as he
or she pleased, and of course that made lots of fusses. Phil did a lot
of talking, and ordered people around a good deal, but nobody minded him
very much. Nora had her hands full with the children; they were awfully
hard to manage, particularly Kathie,--her feelings get hurt so easily.
Nora said that nurse spoiled them, and in a sort of way took their part
against her, while nurse said Nora was too fond of "ordering," and that
she nagged them; so there were rumpuses there sometimes. I read over all
my favourite books that weren't packed up, and worked on my steam
engine, and went about to see what the others were doing; but I tried
not to be mixed up in any of the rows. Fee got a fit of painting,--he
wanted Nora to pose for him for Antigone, but she wouldn't; and he
played his violin any time during the day that he liked,--you see there
wasn't anybody there to mind the noise.
That was in the day; in the evenings we--Nora and we three boys--sat on
the stoop, it was _so_ warm indoors. The Unsworths and Vassahs and 'most
all the people we knew were out of town, and Chad Whitcombe was the only
person that came round to see us.
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