“No she won’t. She’ll be glad I’m gone.”
Mr. Brooks smiled.
“Well, Mr. Alder will, anyway. As soon as you have eaten a few loaves of bread, I’ll get Mr. Giles’s horse. They will be glad enough to see you again.”
Clematis put down her bread. Her lips quivered, and her eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t you want me?” she said.
“My dear child, what do you mean?”
“You said you wished you had a little girl.”
“Did I say that?”
“Yes, you said you wished you had a little girl, and you can have me. Nobody wants me, except you.
“I can make my bed, and wash dishes, and I don’t say slang words any more, and I can weed everything in your garden.”