Ellen felt anxious also, as she remembered how white and ill Mary had looked on the Saturday evening when she had gone away in such distress.
"Did you see Mary Nelson at the class?" Miss Mansfield inquired, in her most abrupt manner, of her niece when she returned.
"No; she was not there," replied Ellen.
Miss Mansfield looked surprised.
"Indeed! I thought she was always to be found there, and wouldn't be absent on any account. But I daresay she is not such a saint after all as she used to make herself out to be."
"Miss Graham said she thought Mary must be ill," observed Ellen, "because she had not been to the class for two Sundays, and she scarcely ever stays away."
Miss Mansfield felt uncomfortable.
She was conscious that she had been too hard upon Mary, who deserved better treatment at her hands, after having worked so faithfully for her during several years.
She knew what delicate health the girl had always had, and feared that she was ill. She almost resolved that she would try to see Mary on the following day, and assist her, if she were ill. And if she found her out of work, offer to take her again into her employ.
But with the fresh demands on her time and attention which Monday morning brought, much to her after regret, this half-formed resolution was forgotten.