But she had to struggle between her delight in these expeditions and the promises she had made her sister to work at the wardrobe for the child.
When the time had come to think about it, Ventura was about to order it from Madrid, but Cecilia said to her:
"If I have the patterns I will undertake to make the things as well as if they came from the city."
Ventura demurred a little at first, but seeing that her sister was set upon the task, she soon gave in, and Cecilia commenced the work with such enthusiasm that she hardly gave herself time to eat and sleep.
Sometimes, when her brother-in-law wanted her to go out, she would say:
"No, you must let me work to-day; I have hardly done anything the last three days."
And when he insisted and made light of her labors, she gave in, saying:
"Very well, it will be all the worse for you when you find that the child has nothing to wear when it arrives."
"Don't trouble about that, dear," he returned, laughing. "I have sufficient shirts for him and myself too, particularly if he is likely to have a predilection for low collars."
By the end of the month the open air and sun had made Cecilia very much stronger, and Gonzalo declared that she looked like a boy, a sailor boy, so sunburnt was her face.