Mamma came in, worried and indignant. "Why did Emma McRanney expect you to know more than she did and instruct her? It was a good deal for her to ask anyway. And I'm sure you've just said you failed, too. Why should all your worry be for her?"
Auntie came in. "I'm sure Emma knows you did your best, Selina. And think what you've gained? A real friend in a real woman like Emma?"
That night alone in her room, Selina took her pen and her paper. The note she wrote was to Culpepper whom she had ignored for six long weeks, and it said:
Dear Culpepper:
I want to tell you that I've been hateful and I am sorry. I did try, however, with my pupil after the first, and try my best. Evidently my best is an inadequate thing, and unflattering to me, for she has failed. And, deciding to try for a certificate, myself, I have failed, too.
Selina.