“Come here, dear.”
Evelyn did not budge an inch.
“Come over to me,” said Miss Henderson.
Miss Henderson was not accustomed to being disobeyed. Her tone was not loud, but it was quiet and determined. She looked full at Evelyn. Her eyes were kind. Evelyn felt as if they mesmerized her. Step by step, very unwillingly, she approached the side of the head-mistress.
“I love girls like you,” said Miss Henderson then.
“Bother!” said Evelyn again.
“And I do not mind even when they are sulky and rude and naughty, as you are now; still, I love them—I love them because I am sorry for them.”
“You need not be sorry for me; I won’t have you sorry for me,” said Evelyn.
“If I must not be sorry for you I must be something else.”
“What?”