“You sit there and rest a minute dear, while I powder my nose and brush my hair. You look as fresh as if you hadn’t had your household to look after all day.”
“I must admit I haven’t had any idle moments,” Kitty confessed.
While Hazel was in the bathroom Kitty glanced around the room that had been made so homelike with many individual touches. On the dresser she noticed a picture of a handsome man, evidently slightly older than Hazel. Her heart sank with misgivings. Perhaps Hazel was already engaged to someone. For a moment she felt a pang of jealousy and resentment. But she simply couldn’t believe Hazel would lead her father on if she were in love with someone else.
“Who’s the gorgeous-looking man?” she asked frankly when Hazel returned to the room.
“Oh, yes, of course—your brother, Willard, I’ve heard you speak about.”
“But how did you know his name? I—I never mention him here.”
“The day I met you in the launch Lieutenant Cary spoke of him.”
“Oh-h!” Hazel’s tone became a degree cooler. “He used to be stationed here,” she added after a moment.
“So Dad said. He was sent here in his place, I understand.”
“I hope we don’t live to regret his asking for this post.”
“You—you mean Dad asked for this appointment?”
“Oh, beg pardon. I thought you knew that.”
“No, I didn’t. I knew nothing about it till Dad wrote me he was coming to Palmetto Island, and it would be a grand place for me and Billy to live.”
Why had both her father and Hazel asked to come here after the trouble Hazel’s brother had had? To cover her confused thoughts Kitty took the picture from the dresser and studied the face frankly. Now she could see a resemblance to Hazel. In that strong chin, firm mouth and the wide frank eyes she could find no evidence of one whose conduct might merit his being relegated to some obscure Naval station.
As she and Hazel went out to meet Ned Miller in the lobby below she was more convinced than ever that there was something mysterious going on, in which her father was deeply involved.
Hazel proved herself an understanding pal that afternoon. She made it seem the most natural thing in the world that Ned should want to see a tiny baby. Kitty thought she had never seen anyone so frightened and so awkward as Ned when he first took that little blanketed form in his arms. But with every passing minute his stiffness and embarrassment grew less. Before their brief call was over he had promised to carve the baby a wooden bowl and spoon for his first eating.