“You will be surprised, perhaps, Aneta, to hear,” said Cicely, “that our dear, darling friends—our greatest girl-friends, except yourself perhaps, and you’re a sort of sister—Molly and Isabel Tristram are also going to Aylmer House in September. They are so nice—you will like them; and then, of course, there’s Maggie Howland, one of the most charming girls we have come across.”
“Whom did you say?” asked Aneta.
“Maggie Howland. She is here.”
“In this house?” said Aneta.
“No; she is at the rectory. She is a special friend of Molly and Isabel. She has been at school with them before in Hanover. You know her, of course? She is one of the girls at Aylmer House.”
“I know her—oh yes, I know her,” said Aneta.
“And you like her, you feel her charm, you—you almost worship her, don’t you, Neta?”
Aneta was silent.
“Oh, I know she is considered plain,” said Merry, “but there’s something about her which prevents one even considering her features. She is the most unselfish, most fascinating girl we have ever come across. You love her, don’t you, Neta?”
There had come a curious change over Aneta’s face. After a brief pause she said, “I have no right to say it, but you two are my cousins”––