After the simple meal the girls put together and washed the dishes, Gale doing the actual washing, Valerie and Phyllis drying while Madge, Janet and Carol carried them to the dining room and put them in the old-fashioned sideboard.
It was upon one of the return trips to the kitchen for more dishes that Carol pushed the swinging door squarely into Madge, knocking the huge platter from her hand.
“I’m dreadfully sorry!” Carol said in horror, gazing down at the smashed fragments of the dish.
“That doesn’t help matters any,” Janet said with a frown. “Why don’t you be careful? We will probably get Phyllis in an awful mess now.”
“It doesn’t matter really,” Phyllis said, knowing in her heart it mattered a great deal. She had no idea what her Aunt might do when she discovered the destruction of her favorite platter.
While Gale assisted Phyllis in picking up the pieces the other girls returned to the dining room. There they waited for the other two while tracing the patterns of wood carving on the heavy oak furniture.
Suddenly Carol, who had been standing at the old sideboard beside Janet, looked up and into the mirror over her head. She saw suddenly the figure of Phyllis’ Aunt in the doorway behind them. At first she almost dropped from fright, then quickly she gathered her wits together. She nudged Janet and from the look on her friend’s face judged Janet had already become aware of Miss Fields. Carol only hoped now that the woman did not know the girls were aware of her.
“You know,” Carol said, trying to speak naturally, “since Phyllis can’t go with us to Briarhurst, suppose we go to Stonecliff with her.”
Valerie and Madge looked at the other two swiftly, but taking their cue, nodded in agreement.
In the mirror Carol saw Miss Fields draw back into the protecting shadows of the room beyond. She turned quite calmly about. Phyllis’ Aunt could not now be seen, but she was still listening, of that Carol was sure.