The rest of the afternoon, the girls read and played games. Clara asked Alex if she'd like to see where Mr. Clemens worked. The three older girls (Jean had fallen asleep) quietly climbed the stairs to the third floor. Alex had the feeling they really weren't supposed to go there, but no one challenged them. Alex remembered this room, the Billiard Room, as her favorite place in the house. It was obviously Mr. Clemens' favorite place, too. The room was dominated by a large fancy billiard table, made of a beautiful red-colored wood, with a tan top and black and gold legs. There was a large fireplace with a tile face, wooden mantel (with all the pictures and other things that seemed to be on every mantel in the whole house), and carved woodwork above the fireplace going right up to the sloped ceiling. This room opened onto the large balcony that looked like the pilot's house of the steamboat from outside. The view from the balcony was all the way down the sloping lawn to the stream below. That stream was the same one that ran below the Bridge from Sandorra.
At one end of the room was Mr. Clemens' work table, and arranged about the table on the floor were several piles of his working materials. This room, more than anywhere else, was full of Mr. Clemens' presence. There was even a lingering smell of his cigar smoke. Alex would have loved to look around the room more, even look at the work he was doing, but they heard someone walking on the lower floor. When the sounds stopped, they ran downstairs, giggling, back to the school room, where Jean was still asleep.
Back in the school room, Clara told Alex about the plays that Susy and her friend, Margaret, would put on in the school room. "When they were younger, Susy and Margaret would dress up as two queens - like Victoria and Mary, Queen of Scots. They used to wear Mama's gowns, which were so big on them. Then they'd have these grand debates on something historical, like starting a war or something. Jean would play, and her job was to write out death warrants for different people, until she would fall asleep. No one was supposed to see these plays, but sometimes Mama and Papa would peek through the door and watch them, and try to keep from laughing out loud."
Later in the day, Mrs. Clemens stopped in to visit, and reminded the girls that their father would be home tonight. She invited Alex to stay for dinner, but Alex declined, knowing that Mrs. Bloomfield was expecting her. However, when Mrs. Clemens and all three girls insisted that she come back afterward and spend the night, she could not resist, especially since it meant she could meet Mark Twain.
Alex said good-bye to everyone, and Jean escorted her to the porch. Promising to be back as soon as she could, Alex walked down the driveway, then onto Farmington Avenue, then Forest Street. As she entered the wooded area, she saw a man ahead of her walking in the same direction she was going. She wondered if he was the man Clara had seen. He was wearing a dark suit, but most of the men she'd seen today were wearing suits, and half of them were wearing dark suits.
She followed behind the man for a short time, being careful to keep her distance from him. She was also careful to not make any noise, hoping she wouldn't attract his attention. After a minute or two, she became very uneasy, and wondered if she should turn back. But he had done nothing to frighten her. With no warning, and without ever looking back at her, the man crossed the street and disappeared into the woods on the other side. She was concerned that he might have seen her, and that maybe he was waiting for her, but then she spotted him a long distance into the woods, still walking quickly away from her. She walked as fast as she could through the rest of the wooded street, and gave a huge sigh of relief when she was once again surrounded by houses.
When she turned the corner of Hawthorn Street and arrived at Mrs. Bloomfield's gate, she rushed inside to a feeling of safety.
The time was 5:40, so she had twenty minutes to get ready for dinner. She went up to her room, filled the basin with water, and washed her face. She found that her hands were shaking. Perhaps the mystery man had frightened her more than she thought. But, she reminded herself, he had done absolutely nothing, except walk down the street ahead of her, then turn into the woods. There wasn't anything suspicious about that!
Just before six o'clock, Alex went downstairs, and found Harry Lightcap reading a newspaper. He promptly put it down, and welcomed her warmly. "Did you have an interesting day?" he asked.
"Yes," Alex answered, just as Mrs. Bloomfield entered the room. "I went over to Nook Farm and met Mrs. Clemens and her daughters. They were really nice people."
"Did you spend all day there?" Mrs. Bloomfield asked.
"Yes, and I had a wonderful time. They were all so warm. And tonight I'm going to meet Mr. Clemens."
"Tonight?" Mrs. Bloomfield asked.
"They invited me to come back after dinner and spend the night," Alex said, forgetting Mrs. Bloomfield's reservations about Mr. Clemens.
Mr. Lightcap did not seem to share Mrs. Bloomfield's opinion. "That's wonderful," he said. "There's no place in Hartford that's more interesting than the Clemens house. There's no end of important visitors there, and grand goings-on. Tell you what. I need to go to the tobacconist shop, so if you're agreeable, we can walk back that way together. It's better than having you walk there alone in the evening."
"That would be very nice," Alex said, not showing how relieved she really was.
Just then Mr. Strong entered. His face was red, as though he'd been doing hard work outside. He mumbled greetings (which seemed to be his normal way of communicating, Alex thought), and went into the dining room.
When Ned and Alice came in, they all sat down to dinner, which was every bit as elegant and sumptuous as it had been last night. Everyone was anxious to hear about Alex's day. They all knew the Clemens house, but none of them had ever been inside, and they wanted to know all the details. When Alex told them she'd be meeting Mr. Clemens tonight, everyone (except Mrs. Bloomfield) was excited for her.
After desert (warm apple pie, and vanilla ice cream that Jane had just made), Mr. Lightcap lit his pipe and suggested that they be off. Alex ran upstairs to fetch her toothbrush and small bundle of clothing she would need to spend the night. Together, they said good-bye and began the walk back to Nook Farm.