"Oh, Dorinda," cried the dying woman, "the doctor was so encouraging!"
The girl turned her face to the window. "Yes, he was very encouraging."
"What did he say to you on the porch?"
"Only that he wanted to have you up before summer." After all, the big lie was easier than the little one.
Mrs. Pedlar sighed happily. "I do wish summer would come!"
Dorinda bent down and straightened the pillow under the brilliant head. It was hard to die, she thought, when the world was so beautiful. There could be no drearier lot, she imagined, than marriage with Nathan for a husband; better by far the drab freedom of the Snead sisters. Yet even to Rose Emily, married to Nathan, life was not without sweetness. A warm pity for her friend pervaded Dorinda's heart; pity for all that she had missed and for the love that she had never known.
"It won't be long now." What more could she say?
"Dorinda!" Rose Emily's voice was quivering like the string of a harp. "Miss Texanna came in for a minute, and she was so excited about the dress Miss Seena is getting for you in town. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to, dear, only I didn't have time."
"I am so glad you are going to have a new dress. We can perfectly well make it here, after Miss Seena has cut it out. Sometimes I get tired crocheting."