A large bouquet of orchids and violets was given to Sally and smaller ones to the lucky girls who were chosen as her attendants.
How great was the change in Sally was made evident that night when the guests were gone. “Shall you press the orchids and keep them to remember Donald Dearing?” Betsy inquired as they were preparing for bed.
“No, indeed. I am going to give them to poor Miss Buell in the morning. She’s been sick for two days and she hasn’t anything in her room to make it cheerful,” was Sally’s unexpected reply.
Somehow Betsy couldn’t tease, but she confided to Dicky Taylor that she felt in her bones that some day Sally would become Mrs. Donald Dearing.
CHAPTER XXXIII
FAREWELL TO VINE HAVEN
The school year was over. Trunks strapped and ready to be taken away were piled high in the lower corridor. Girls arrayed in traveling suits, many of them with hats already on, were hurrying about visiting each other’s rooms to say farewell.
“Oh, how I do envy you all,” Betsy Clossen declared as she stood by the window watching Babs and Megsy in their last preparations for departure.
“You four girls all going West together with that nice Benjy Wilson as escort. I’d give anything if I could go, too, but Fate is certainly against me.”
The usually cheerful Betsy Clossen looked so dismally doleful that Margaret sprang up from the floor where she had been strapping a suitcase and caught the hands of her friend as she exclaimed: “Why, Betsy, you look as though you were about to cry. What has happened? I thought you had such happy plans for the summer? Aren’t you going to that nice aunt’s summer home for three months?”
The other girl shook her head. “I did expect to go and I was so happy about it,” she replied, “but today Mrs. Martin had a long distance telephone message from my uncle. The boys have scarlet fever and the house will be quarantined for at least a month, maybe even longer.”