"May I see what I can do?" she asked.
"I am beyond refusing you anything, Kathleen. I have that trunk on my brain, and it's worse than water in the same place. Mrs. Gorman kept poking her nose in and telling me: 'I had no method' until I slammed the door in her face and locked it. Then the Father and Dr. Marsh began to look in on me through the window, telling me I was overlooked when the gift of tidiness was being distributed. But I have sent them on a dying message to Pat Collins, who is not sick. Dan, too, must come along and ask me why I was swearing? There is only one good angel in Grey Town, and you are that one, Kathleen O'Connor."
Kathleen began to remove the contents of the trunk, loosely rolled up and thrown in after a harum-scarum fashion.
"What will you do at St. Luke's?" she asked.
"I am going there to mortify the flesh. Nursing I love, but to be tidy is a penance to me."
"Make a big effort," suggested Kathleen.
"I wonder could I? I wouldn't enjoy a tidy room one bit. I would not so much as dare to brush my hair for fear of disturbing the arrangements."
"The Mother Superioress insists upon her nurses' appearance being spick and span," said Kathleen.
"For two ha'pence I would not go there, but ever since I cared for poor Joe Mulcahy I have wished to be a nurse. Well, heaven help me and send me the virtue of order."