A delightfully broad window-seat filled with cushions was at the turn of the stairway, where one had a view of the campus, now snow covered, beautiful in the glimmer of the moonlight.
Arranging the cushions here to her satisfaction, Nora began the conversation. “I heard you talk in the meeting yesterday, Elizabeth, and I wish to thank you.”
“Why thank me? I only said what I thought.”
“Some girls might have done considerably less—to my knowledge some of them have. You ran the risk of being unpopular, and yet you were willing to take that risk because you were my friend. That is the kind of friendship that is worth having. You do not know how pleased, how glad I was! Why, I had not been so happy for months.”
“Take the risk! Because I was your friend! Well, I must be awfully dense, but really, Nora, I haven’t the faintest idea what you are trying to say.”
“You say that to escape my thanks—my gratitude. That is just your way. I might have expected as much. You do a generous, noble deed and then slip away from the gratitude that follows.”
“Well, it may be my way, and it may not. I do not know what you are talking about. If I have done what you call a generous, noble deed, this is the first I have heard of it. If your mind is still upon the speech I made yesterday, you may be sure there was nothing noble about that. Why, you have no idea how angry I was! It made me so indignant to hear some explain what should be done and how. I didn’t approve of their plans at all, so the only thing left for me to do was to say what I thought about it. It is news to me that being indignant and expressing yourself rather—well, rather forcibly, is noble and generous. Though,” dryly, “I’m rather glad it is so, for it will be easy for me to be noble in that fashion.”
Miss O’Day turned to look closely at her.
“Really, Elizabeth, upon your honor now, did you really not have me in mind when you made that speech yesterday?”
“I did not, ’pon honor,” she laughed softly. Then she gave Miss O’Day’s hand a very loving squeeze to mitigate the hurt her next words might contain. “It may be rather galling to your pride, but I did not even think of you after we entered the meeting, although I suppose you must have been sitting by me. I was all eyes and ears for what was going on up front. I suppose you might add all mouth, too, for that matter.”