And, of course, that settled it.
CHAPTER XII
HERBS AND SIMPLES
Miss Sophia, notwithstanding the unexpected turn that affairs had taken, had by no means relinquished her point of view. No sooner was she satisfied that Stella would not desert her post for any other offer, however flattering, than she recovered herself sufficiently to make quite clear to the girl her changed footing in the Spellman household.
“Our work is light,” she announced, coldly, “and I shall expect you to earn your board. I have no doubt you prefer to be independent, as far as possible. I will pay such bills as are necessary, but there must be no more extras nor nonsense, mind. As for clothes, you’ll scarcely outgrow them now, and my sister kept you so generously supplied that I should not think you would need anything new for a long time. A girl in your position must not expect to dress as well as a prosperous man like Mr. Parker or Dr. Brown can afford to dress his daughter.”
Yellow Star said nothing, but she was not slow to take a hint, and she made up her mind then and there never to ask Miss Sophia for a dollar or a new dress. Neither did she want to draw any of her precious money out of the savings-bank where Mother Waring had placed it for her, on their first coming to Laurel.
She was quick and capable; all the housework for two, except laundry and heavy cleaning, now fell to her share, and took up nearly all her time, out of school. However, there was the long summer vacation to plan for; and in the spring after Mrs. Waring’s death, Stella began to seek and to find opportunities for earning small sums of money. She delivered hats for the local milliner and gowns for the village dressmaker. She took a neighbor’s baby out in his carriage on fine days, at ten cents an errand or an airing. One April afternoon, Doctor Brown found her on her knees with basket and trowel, grubbing up dandelions in Miss Sophia’s front yard.
“She pays me a cent apiece, because she doesn’t like to see them in her grass,” Stella explained, gravely. Miss Sophia had at least a sense of justice, and although she exacted full service of the orphan, to the utmost equivalent of her modest living, she would not ask her to do out-of-door work without paying for it. She had been going to hire a boy for the dandelions, and Stella had begged for the chance.