The girls were full of commiseration. They had always regarded Rowena before as being great fun, and very sporting. She felt that, though they did not put it into words, her invalid life at present formed a gulf between her and their pleasure-loving souls.
"It's so tiresome," said Katie Fraser; "so many of the men are grumpy now like General Macdonald. George is very much the same himself—says tennis and games are boring, and fatigue him. He likes to moon about and go off alone with the keepers."
"My dear," said Lady Fraser, "you forget how ill he has been."
"And the horrors he has gone through," said Rowena slowly. "Forgetfulness is not easy to them all."
"Oh, we will teach them to forget," laughed one of the girls. "They must have a good time now, to make up for all they have lost."
"We're going to get up a pastoral play the end of August," said Lady Fraser; "there will be more people down here then. I do hate the empty time up here, don't you?"
"Well, I'm looking forward to spend the winter here," said Rowena.
They screamed at that statement.
"You can't! Nobody lives here in the winter. You had better be buried at once."
"Why, you will have no neighbours at all! All the houses are shut up!"