She appeared at dinner with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. Her manner had undergone a complete revolution. She was no longer stiff nor defiant. She addressed herself almost as much as formerly to Molly, who received her first advances with delight, but presently turned away her head with a sigh. This voluble, excitable Kate was not the Kate O'Connor of old. A certain element which had made her slightest remark delightful had left her voice. Molly thought, as she listened to her gay and excited words, that she would rather have her silent and distant. But Cecil, who did not know Kate, and the other girls at the dinner table were charmed to have her bright and cheerful once more.
When the meal came to an end, Kate rushed off to find Miss Leicester.
"I want to ask a great favor of you, Miss Leicester," exclaimed the girl.
"What is that, my dear?"
"My birthday will be on Saturday. I shall be seventeen on that occasion; I want to know if I may celebrate the event by a little party, to which I want to ask all my friends and acquaintances belonging to the school."
Miss Leicester considered for a moment.
"We don't much care to have entertainments of that sort during term," she said.
"Yes; but this is a most special occasion. I do beg of you to let me have it."
"Where do you propose to entertain your friends, Kate?"
"I think Hester Temple will let me use her room; it is a good large one."