"Miss Grey's come to see you about something," interrupted Katie; "she—"
"I had a husband," continued old Mrs. Croft, raising her voice from Do to Re, "and such a one! Wednesday he'd go to sleep and Thursdays he'd wake, so regular you could tell the days of the week just from his habits. He—"
"Miss Grey wants—" interrupted Katie.
"I came to—" said Jane.
"I had a husband," continued old Mrs. Croft, going from Re to Mi now; "oh, my, but I did have a husband. In May I had him and in December I had him, but he was always the same to me. You can see his picture there, Miss Grey; it's all faded out, just from being looked at; but I'll tell you where it never fades, Miss Grey—it never so much as turns a hair in my heart. My heart is engraved—"
"You'd better go on and say what you've got to say," said Katie to Jane. "I often put her to bed talking, and she talks all the night through."
"I want to ask you—" Jane began.
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," sang Mrs. Croft. "Oh, I had—"
"—I want you to come and stay with us," Jane said, with forceful accents.
There was a sudden tense hush.