This was a surprise, even to the actors; and, when they saw the table, they looked at one another in rapturous amazement. It was like Marmee to get up a little treat for them; but anything so fine as this was unheard of since the departed days of plenty. There was ice-cream – actually two dishes of it, pink and white – and cake and fruit and distracting French bonbons, and, in the middle of the table, four great bouquets of hothouse flowers.
It quite took their breath away; and they stared first at the table and then at their mother, who looked as if she enjoyed it immensely.
‘Is it fairies?’ asked Amy.
‘It’s Santa Claus,’ said Beth.
‘Mother did it’; and Meg smiled her sweetest, in spite of her grey beard and white eyebrows.
‘Aunt March had a good fit, and sent the supper,’ cried Jo, with a sudden inspiration.
‘All wrong. Old Mr Laurence sent it,’ replied Mrs March.
‘The Laurence boy’s grandfather! What in the world put such a thing into his head? We don’t know him!’ exclaimed Meg.
‘Hannah told one of his servants about your breakfast party. He is an odd old gentleman, but that pleased him. He knew my father, years ago; and he sent me a polite note this afternoon, saying he hoped I would allow him to express his friendly feeling towards my children by sending them a few trifles in honour of the day. I could not refuse; and so you have a little feast at night to make up for the bread-and-milk breakfast.’
‘That boy put it into his head, I know he did! He’s a capital fellow, and I wish we could get acquainted. He looks as if he’d like to know us; but he’s bashful, and Meg is so prim she won’t let me speak to him when we pass,’ said Jo, as the plates went round, and the ice began to melt out of sight, with ‘Ohs!’ and ‘Ahs!’ of satisfaction.
‘You mean the people who live in the big house next door, don’t you?’ asked one of the girls. ‘My mother knows old Mr Laurence; but says he’s very proud, and doesn’t like to mix with his neighbours. He keeps his grandson shut up, when he isn’t riding or walking with his tutor, and makes him study very hard. We invited him to our party, but he didn’t come. Mother says he’s very nice, though he never speaks to us girls.’
‘Our cat ran away once, and he brought her back, and we talked over the fence, and were getting on capitally – all about cricket, and so on – when he saw Meg coming, and walked off. I mean to know him some day; for he needs fun, I’m sure he does,’ said Jo decidedly.
‘I like his manners, and he looks like a little gentleman; so I’ve no objection to your knowing him, if a proper opportunity comes. He brought the flowers himself; and I should have asked him in, if I had been sure what was going on upstairs. He looked so wistful as he went away, hearing the frolic, and evidently having none of his own.’
‘It’s a mercy you didn’t, Mother!’ laughed Jo, looking at her boots. ‘But we’ll have another play, some time, that he can see. Perhaps he’ll help act; wouldn’t that be jolly?’
‘I never had such a fine bouquet before! How pretty it is!’ And Meg examined her flowers with great interest.
‘They are lovely. But Beth’s roses are sweeter to me,’ said Mrs March, smelling the half-dead posy in her belt.
Beth nestled up to her, and whispered softly, ‘I wish I could send my bunch to Father. I’m afraid he isn’t having such a merry Christmas as we are.’
‘Jo! Jo! where are you?’ cried Meg, at the foot of the garret stairs.
‘Here!’ answered a husky voice from above; and, running up, Meg found her sister eating apples and crying over the Heir of Redclyffe, wrapped up in a comforter on an old three-legged sofa by the sunny window. This was Jo’s favourite refuge; and here she loved to retire with half a dozen russets and a nice book, to enjoy the quiet and the society of a pet rat who lived near by, and didn’t mind her a particle. As Meg appeared, Scrabble whisked into his hole. Jo shook the tears off her cheeks, and waited to hear the news.
‘Such fun! only see! a regular note of invitation from Mrs Gardiner for tomorrow night!’ cried Meg, waving the precious paper, and then proceeding to read it, with girlish delight.
‘“Mrs Gardiner would be happy to see Miss March and Miss Josephine at a little dance on New Year’s Eve.” Marmee is willing we should go; now what shall we wear?’
‘What’s the use of asking that, when you know we shall wear our poplins because we haven’t got anything else?’ answered Jo, with her mouth full.
‘If I only had a silk!’ sighed Meg. ‘Mother says I may when I’m eighteen, perhaps; but two years is an everlasting time to wait.’
‘I’m sure our pops look like silk, and they are nice enough for us. Yours is as good as new, but I forgot the burn and the tear in mine. Whatever shall I do? the burn shows badly and I can’t take any out.’
‘You must sit still all you can, and keep your back out of sight; the front is all right. I shall have a new ribbon for my hair, and Marmee will lend me her little pearl pin, and my new slippers are lovely, and my gloves will do, though they aren’t as nice as I’d like.’
‘Mine are spoilt with lemonade, and I can’t get any new ones, so I shall have to go without,’ said Jo, who never troubled herself much about dress.
‘You must have gloves, or I won’t go,’ cried Meg decidedly, ‘gloves are more important than anything else. I should be so mortified if you didn’t have them.’
‘Then I’ll stay still. I don’t care much for company dancing. It’s no fun to go sailing round. I like to fly about and cut capers.’
‘You can’t ask Mother for new ones, they are so expensive, and you are so careless. She said, when you spoilt the others, that she shouldn’t get you any more this winter. Can’t you make them do?’ asked Meg anxiously.
‘I can hold them crumpled up in my hand, so no one will know how stained they are; that’s all I can do. No, I’ll tell you how we can manage – each wear one good one and carry a bad one; don’t you see?’
‘Your hands are bigger than mine, and you will stretch my glove dreadfully,’ began Meg, whose gloves were a tender point with her.
‘Then I’ll go without. I don’t care what people say!’ cried Jo, taking up her book.
‘You may have it, you may! only don’t stain it, and do behave nicely. Don’t put your hands behind you, or stare, or say “Christopher Columbus!” will you?’
‘Don’t worry about me; I’ll be as prim as I can, and not get into any scrapes, if I can help it. Now go and answer your note, and let me finish this splendid story.’
So Meg went away to ‘accept with thanks’, look over her dress, and sing blithely as she did up her one real lace frill; while Jo finished her story, her four apples, and had a game of romps with Scrabble.
On New Year’s Eve the parlour was deserted, for the two younger girls played dressing-maids, and the two older were absorbed in the all-important business of ‘getting ready