PART 3
Midmorning, Laurie left instructions with his secretary to take messages if any callers came. He walked home to ask Amy if he could take the carriage. Apparently his wife had satiated her need for social contact the previous day, and he enjoyed the crisp air during the drive to Plumfield.
Near the barn, Laurie found Nick struggling with a mass of white canvas.
“Laurie--perfect timing! Could you help me for a minute? The boys are still in school.”
Laurie assented, and good-naturedly tried to help Nick make sense of the jumbled cloth. “Is this one of the tents?” he asked.
“Yes, and they’re all in terrible shape. Jo got these on loan from Col. Bradshaw, and they’re left over from the war. You can tell by the smell,” he added, wrinkling his nose. “I hope they’ll be all right after I air them out--I don’t like reminders of army camps.”
Laurie helped Nick spread the tents over the rails of the corral, and Nick intended to have the boys beat the dust out when chores started that afternoon. Laurie’s suit was a sight by the time he walked into the house.
“Laurie, what have you been doing?” asked Jo. “Your suit looks terrible!”
“I was helping Nick with the tents,” explained Laurie a bit sheepishly.
“You didn’t have to do that in your good suit,” protested his sister-in-law. “What will Amy say?”
Laurie reddened as he considered his wife’s reaction when he got home. ”I don’t know,” he admitted.
“I suppose you’ll deserve your scolding, then,” Jo said with a grin. “Here, I’ll put a towel down on the sofa so you don’t ruin the upholstery,” she teased. “I don’t suppose you’d care for a cup of tea?”
“That would be lovely--thank you"
Jo asked Asia to make a pot of tea, then sat down in the parlor. “I assume that you’re willing to come camping this Friday, then.”
“Yes--I’m glad for the opportunity to spend more time with the boys.”
“And Amy didn’t object? I thought she’d die when I asked her to pass on the request. But she was outwardly polite, like always.”
“Yes, she did squirm a bit last night when she relayed the message. But I can spare a couple of days from the office, and I even talked her into coming along.”
Jo struggled to lift her jaw off the floor. “How did you manage that?” she asked incredulously.
“She was very concerned about her family’s safety, so I thought the best solution would be if she personally supervised that safety.”
“But won’t she have a terrible time outdoors? And sleeping on the ground… I don’t think she could tolerate that for an entire night.”
“I suppose we could make a concession and get her a cot. Though I hope that we wouldn’t try to borrow any army cots from Col. Bradshaw--the tents were in terrible condition.”
Jo giggled. “I suppose I should have known better than to borrow real army tents. I know Father has enough stories about how difficult it was during that time.”
“Maybe this will encourage the boys to avoid careers in the military,” teased Laurie.
Together they planned to meet at Plumfield early Friday afternoon. Jo saw Laurie out to his carriage, with cheerful reminders to bring old clothes.
PART 4
