"Did not Aleck love her after the fire?" asked Bessie.
"I think he was very grateful to her, dear, but I am afraid he never became very fond of her. He was a gentle, timid little fellow, and though his aunt was never harsh to him, it used to frighten him to see her severity with other people."
"I'd have loved her, even if she was cross," said Maggie, looking again at the picture. "I'd have been so good to her that she couldn't be unkind to me, and if she had scolded me a little, I wouldn't have minded, because I'd have been so sorry for her."
"Oh, Midget," said Harry, "you would have been frightened out of your wits at her first cross word."
"No, I wouldn't, Harry; and I would try to be patient, even if she scolded me like—like Aunt Patty."
"And what if she was Aunt Patty?" said Fred.
"But then she wasn't, you know."
"But she was," said papa, smiling.
Maggie and Bessie opened their eyes very wide at this astonishing news.
"You said her name was Henrietta, papa," said Maggie.