“Yes, thank you,” answered Lexy, and the doctor brought it to her.
Poor Captain Grey and his precious, new-found sister! The sound of his voice brought tears to her eyes.
“But this is idiotic!” she thought, annoyed and surprised.
Still the tears welled up. She gulped down the rest of her tea hastily, hoping that it would steady her, but it did not help at all. Sobs rose in her throat, and an immense and formless sorrow came over her.[Pg 339]
“This has got to stop!” she thought, in alarm. “I can’t be such a chump!”
She turned to Mrs. Quelton.
“Are you going to grow any—” she began, but her voice was so unsteady that she had to stop for a moment. “Any flowers in—in your—g-garden?”
The question ended in a loud and unmistakable sob. They all turned to look at her, startled and anxious.
She made a desperate effort to regain control of herself.
“S-snapdragon,” she said. “So—so p-pretty!”