“May has gone to bed with a bad headache,” said Hal, with a grin, for the information of his stepmother.
“I think she should have sat up; it is only proper respect to us,” retorted Mrs. Churchill.
“Not if she is ill, my dear,” said Mr. Churchill, who somehow missed seeing his pretty daughter.
Mrs. Churchill said nothing more on the subject. She ate her supper and arranged “the things” that she had brought from Castle Hill to her own satisfaction, and then retired for the night, well satisfied with herself and what she had done during the day.
And the next morning she rose early, as was her usual practice, and began her healthful daily life with her accustomed energy. At half-past eight o’clock she and her husband and the two boys were seated at the well-spread breakfast table, but still May had not appeared.
“Ring the breakfast bell again, Hal,” directed Mrs. Churchill presently. “I can not have May lying in bed all day.”
The breakfast bell was rung for the second time, but it failed to bring May down-stairs. Therefore, after she had finished her own excellent breakfast with excellent appetite, Mrs. Churchill said she would go upstairs to see after her stepdaughter.
“I’ll not take her up any tea, as she may be only idling,” she remarked, as she rose from the table; “but I’ll see what is really the matter with her.”
She accordingly went upstairs and rapped at May’s bedroom door. There was no reply, so Mrs. Churchill opened it and went in.