‘Then you’re quite sure I wasn’t untruthful?’ asked Kitty, trying hard to be reassured.
‘Oh yes,’ said Emmeline; ‘and now go to sleep, and don’t talk to me any more.’
Kitty obeyed for about five minutes, but when Emmeline rose from her knees again, after saying her prayers far more hurriedly than usual, the effort of silence became too great a strain for the little sister.
‘Do you think adopting somebody always leads to such a lot of horridness?’ she asked abruptly. ‘I mean the wrong one being punished for what someone else did, and people not being sure that they haven’t as good as told stories, and being sent to bed ever so early, and not having any supper when they’re most frightfully hungry?’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about,’ said Emmeline, frightened and angry. ‘Who’s being punished for what someone else did?’
‘Why, Punch was, of course!’ said Kitty, a little taken aback at Emmeline’s manner; ‘though Cook did give him an extra big supper afterwards to make up, she told me just now, but somehow I don’t think even an extra big supper quite makes up for being accused of what you haven’t done. Do you think it does, Emmeline?’
Emmeline made no answer, and Kitty felt snubbed and subsided into silence. Presently afterwards Emmeline jumped into bed and blew out the candle. The room had been dark for some little time, and Kitty was becoming sleepy when she was startled wide-awake again by a strange sound in the part of the room where Emmeline was lying. She sat up, leaning on her elbows, and listened. Yes, there it was again! There could be no mistake about it. Emmeline was crying!
A moment later Kitty had scrambled on to Emmeline’s counterpane, and was cuddling her in the most motherly way imaginable.
‘What is it, my poor darling?’ she was asking, in the tender voice that she usually kept for Punch. She and Micky, though very devoted, were not demonstrative to each other.