Mrs. Osgood beckoned her with a smile and an inclination of the head. Florence felt as if she were being bewitched.
Granny watched her as she stepped into the carriage.
"If she'd been born a lady she couldn't act more like one. It's a great pity"—
A few tears finished Granny's sentence. All the others were more content with their poverty than Florence.
So she went back to her ironing with a heart into which had crept some strange misgiving. Hal was out; Joe never came home to dinner; so Granny gave the children a piece of bread all round, and kept going steadily on until the last ruffled apron had been taken out of the pile.
Very long indeed the hours seemed. Oh, if any harm should befall her beautiful, darling Flossy! Poor Joe, in his grave, had loved her so well!
Flossy meanwhile was having a most delightful time.
"I am going to take you to Salem," Mrs. Osgood said, after Florence had begun to feel quite at home with her. "We will have our dinner at the hotel."