Jane kept her promise, and while the lilacs lasted, they used to go often to their secret place and smell the fragrance of the blossoms.
The first of July, some of the girls began to start for their vacations in the country.
Now it was harder than ever for Clematis to stick to her work. She kept thinking of the beautiful fields, when she should have been thinking of numbers.
“I don’t know what we are going to do with you, Clematis,” said Miss Rose one day.
“You do try hard sometimes. You have learned to make beds well. You are a good girl about your clothes, morning and night. But you are dreaming of other things, I fear. What is it you dream about so much?”
Clematis thought a moment.
“Do you think I will have a chance to go to the country?”
She looked up at Miss Rose. Her face was white and anxious.
“Why Clematis. I don’t know. You wouldn’t be very much help I am afraid. You quarrel with the other children, and you are very slow to learn.”
“Yes’m,” said Clematis, and hung her head.