“I dare say Jem is right, mamma, and I am cross.”
“Not cross, Letty, only dismal, which is a great deal worse, I think,” said Jem.
“Well, I won’t be dismal any more to-night, if I can help it. Davie, take Polly, and, mamma, lie down on the sofa and rest while I make the tea. Jem, you shall help me by making up the fire. We will all have tea to-night, because I am a visitor.”
“All right!” said Jem. “Anything to please all round; and the hot tea will cool us nicely, won’t it?”
“It will refresh us at any rate.”
And so the little cloud passed away, and Violet’s cheerfulness lasted through the rest of the visit, and up to the moment that she bade Jem good-bye at Mr Oswald’s gate. It did not last much longer, however. It was nearly dark, and Mr Oswald and his sister and Frank were sitting on the lawn to catch the faint breeze that was stirring among the chestnut trees.
“I thought you were not coming home to-night,” said Miss Livy, in an aggrieved tone.
“I was detained,” said Violet. “How are the children?”
“They are in bed at last. You should not have told them that you would be home before their bed-time, unless you had intended to come. However, they are in bed now. Pray don’t go and disturb them again. Philip had to go to them at last. He is up-stairs now. They are dreadfully spoiled.”
Violet dropped down in the nearest chair.