Diana entered the dining room with her face all aglow with smiles, the rich color back again in her cheeks, and her black eyes dancing. Even Mr. Dolman gave a gasp of relief when he saw her.
Even Mrs. Dolman felt a slight degree of satisfaction. She did not intend to be hard on the children—in her heart of hearts she was quite resolved to make them not only good, but also happy.
"Well, my dear little girl," she said, drawing Diana to her side, "and so you are sorry for what you said?"
"Awfu' sossy," answered Diana, in a cheerful voice.
"Then you beg my pardon, and you won't be naughty again?"
"I begs yous pardon, Aunt Jane," said Diana. She looked very attentively up and down her relation's figure as she spoke.
"Poor Aunt Jane, she's awfu' stout," murmured Diana, under her breath. "I must get a good sharp arrow—oh, yes! words is nothing."
Mrs. Dolman drew out a chair near herself.
"You shall sit near me, Diana, and I will help you to your dinner," she said. "I hope in future you will really try to be a very good little girl."
Diana made no reply to this, but when her aunt piled her plate with nourishing and wholesome food, she began to eat with appetite. Towards the end of the meal she bent over towards Mrs. Dolman, and said in a confiding voice: