“Oh! Oh! I never thought of that.”
“I always miss you,” Rose said gravely. “You have made a great difference to us all.”
Henrietta’s mouth opened with astonishment. “I had no idea. And I do nothing but enjoy myself.”
Rose laughed. “That’s what we want you to do. You must be as happy as you can.”
This, from Aunt Rose, was the most wonderful thing that had happened yet. Henrietta was overcome by astonishment and gratitude. “I had no idea. I never dreamt of your liking me. I thought you just put up with me.”
“You haven’t given me much chance,” Rose said in a low voice, “of doing anything else.”
It was true: Henrietta could not flourish when she thought herself unappreciated, but now she expanded like a flower blossoming in a night.
“Oh, if we could be friends! There’s nobody to talk to except Charles Batty, and I hated, I simply hated being at Sales Hall to-night.” She tightened her lips and opened them to say, “I shan’t go there again. I said so. She is a terrible woman.”
“She has a great deal to bear.”
“Yes, and she counts on your remembering that,” Henrietta said acutely.