A Worried Man

"I almost wish you wouldn't bring that child here," says Daddy, when little Maybelle is out of hearing distance.

"Why are you in such a peckish mood?" Grandma protests. "May is our dear B.-O.'s grandchild, and she has a right to visit our old home."

"Well, I'm just worried about Miranda."

"You should have married a stout Irish or American girl."

"She fainted this morning before breakfast."

"Uh oh," says Grandma. "We know what that means."

"What am I going to do, Mother? I'm always afraid the next one will be twins, and the house isn't big enough to hold them."

"You'll have to convert the attic to a big nursery and children's rooms. You've put off that job for seven years, now, but it must be done."

"But where is the money to be found?" Daddy worries. "Hardly enough comes in now to pay the staff, and Miranda declares that if there's another baby, she will hire a nanny before it's born."

"Call in some favors from your friends," Grandma advises. "You threw money all over the place when B.-O. died. Every family who wanted a new carriage, or a loan to cover their holiday trip, would gather around to see if you had spent all your inheritance yet."

"Tom Bose is a pretty good carpenter," Daddy reckons, "and I guess you could say he owes me a couple of thousands from the year their barns burned, though I hate to remind him of that misfortune."

"If you would remind everyone who owes you money, with any successful return," says Grandma, "you could hire a nurse for the children and a housekeeper to run this place--which someone sorely needs to do."

"What do you mean by that remark?"

And so forth.

*

Maybelle's surname is Buff-Orpington. A very old breed of barnyard fowl is called Orpington. Camilla calls Maybelle "Chicken," sometimes to her face.