CHAPTER XVII
Elfie's Choice
'Go, whate'er the lot may be
That my Father sends to me,
Never am I comfortless
With His Word to aid and bless;
And while He His help is bringing,
I will cheer the way with singing.'—Farningham.
Gwen refused to have her breakfast in bed the next morning, and appeared downstairs at the usual hour with a white determined face.
She looked in astonishment at Elfie, who was flitting round the room singing merrily, as she added fresh flowers to the vases on the breakfast table.
'Well,' said Elfie, a little defiantly, 'I am not going to be miserable, even if we have lost our money. There is no death in the house, and they say beggars have lighter hearts than kings!'
And she would not have breakfast a silent meal, but chatted and laughed, and had so much to tell Gwen of all that had happened during her absence, that she infected the others with her light-hearted gaiety.
It was after Agatha had done her housekeeping that, sitting round the fire, Gwen gave them full details of all they wished to know. She did not spare herself, and her sisters wondered at the change in her, for never before in their lives had they known Gwen to own herself in the wrong. Then ways and means were discussed, Agatha declared she would send away the two maids at once, and then with the help of a woman from the village, she was sure they could still live together on her income; but this the others would not hear of.
'I would set up a village shop if I had capital,' asserted Gwen, with a little of her old spirit; 'the rôle of governess for needy women is past and gone; but for myself I know I shall not do better than stick to literature. I can write, and I have had many openings which I have refused, because I did not want the grind of it. If I set to work in earnest now, I shall soon bring some grist to the mill.'