“It might be if it was kept nice; but the maids are lazy, and I don’t know how to make them mind. It worries me, though.”

“I’ll right it up in two minutes; for it only needs to have the hearth brushed, so⁠—and the things made straight on the mantelpiece so⁠—and the books put here, and the bottles there, and your sofa turned from the light, and the pillows plumped up a bit. Now, then, you’re fixed.”

And so he was; for, as she laughed and talked, Jo had whisked things into place, and given quite a different air to the room. Laurie watched her in respectful silence; and when she beckoned him to his sofa, he sat down with a sigh of satisfaction, saying gratefully⁠—

“How kind you are! Yes, that’s what it wanted. Now please take the big chair, and let me do something to amuse my company.”

“No; I came to amuse you. Shall I read aloud?” and Jo looked affectionately toward some inviting books near by.