"What are you afraid of?" replied Lucy: "we had nothing to do with it."
Margaret's conscience did not fully acquit her; but her uneasiness was lessened when her mother entered, still talking to Dora. "I have ordered the carriage, and she shall go," were her first words. "I shall never bear the sight of her again, and she wishes it herself. She says Mrs Walton will receive her."
"But was it really her fault, mamma?" asked Dora.
"Whose could it be?" replied Mrs Harrington. "She left her—left her in that field, notwithstanding my strict charge to the contrary, for such a child could never have opened the gate: and she must have known that there was danger."
"But Margaret and Lucy were near," continued Dora.
"So she says," replied Mrs Harrington; "but they could not have been, or they would have taken care of her."
"Where were you when poor little Rose fell in?" asked Dora, appealing to her sister.
Margaret was about to reply, but a glance from Miss Cunningham stopped her, and she suffered her to speak instead.
"We were standing near the bridge, looking for Margaret's pony; and when we saw what had happened, we ran directly and tried to save her."
"I told you so, Dora," exclaimed Mrs Harrington, in extreme indignation.
"I knew she equivocated: she shall not remain in my house another hour."