"You mustn't say 'if.' You must say 'when.'" This brought a smile. "I am sure you will get through."
"Perhaps—" came absently. Winnie's eyes kept searching her face, and the gentle lips moved nervously, as if she wanted to say something, and had not courage.
"You must have thought it unkind of me, Winnie, never to come again to see you," Doris said hastily, anxious to stave off remarks. "But— Wyldd's Farm is a long way off. I was abroad a good while; and since I came back—somehow it has not been possible."
"You've been too busy."
"Or perhaps too lazy. Anyhow, here I am at last—as soon as I knew that you really wanted me. How soon do you go?"
"On Friday."
"The day after to-morrow. And—you don't mind! You are not frightened?"
Winnie's smile was an embodiment of serenity.
"Why should I be frightened? No—I don't think I am. It will be all right—either way. And I'm trying to want to get over it."
"But of course you want that. Of course you want to be strong—able to work and do things."