That oughtn't to stump anyone,
ought it?"
"I suppose not," answered Kate, in a bewildered way.
She put her hand to her forehead, bade her brother good-night, and
sought her room.
"Three hundred and fifty pounds!" she murmured. "And mother won't buy
herrings more than eightpence a dozen! And we scarcely eat any meat, and
lately we have begun even to save the bread. Three hundred and fifty
pounds! Well, I won't tell Mabel. Does Mabel really know the world
better than I do, and is it wrong of me in spite of everything to love
Loftus?"
CHAPTER VI.
FOR MY PART, I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE ANY NOTICE OF THE BERTRAMS.
But notwithstanding all worries, the world in midsummer, when the days
are longest and the birds sing their loudest, is a gay place for the
young. Catherine Bertram stayed awake for quite an hour that night. An
hour was a long time for such young and bright eyes to remain wide open,
and she fancied with a wave of self-pity how wrinkled and old she would
look in the morning. Not a bit of it! She arose with the complexion of a
Hebe, and the buoyant and gladsome spirit of a lark.
As she dressed she sang, and when she ran downstairs she whistled a
plantation melody with such precision and clearness that Loftus
exclaimed, "Oh, how shocking!" and Mabel rolled up her eyes, and said
sagely, that no one ever could turn Kate into anything but a tom-boy.
Pages:
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66