The different members of the family had come flocking in, drawn by the music, and wondering who the player was, for the tune was new to them and the touch different from that of any of themselves.
"Give us a song, love," requested the delighted young husband.
She complied at once, and the effect upon the small audience was fully up to Rupert's expectation. She had a magnificent voice, strong, full, of great compass and flexibility, sweet and clear as the warble of a bird; a voice that would have made her fortune as a prima donna; nor was it entirely uncultivated.
How they crowded round her and poured out their thanks and praises, begging for another and still another till the tea-bell summoned them away to their evening meal!
Juanita's playing and singing were destined henceforth to form one of the greatest enjoyments of the entire family.
Cyril came home for a short visit, and for several weeks they all (except the doctor, whose patients had to be attended to) gave themselves up, for the most of the time, to the enjoyment of each other's society. It was so delightful to be together again after the long separation of Rupert and Don from the others, that they seemed unable to remain apart for any length of time.
They gathered now at one of the three houses, now at another. One day the mother was the hostess, then Mildred, then Zillah; but at whichever dwelling they congregated all were perfectly at home, Juanita very soon as much so as the rest, for they all gave her a daughter's and sister's place, calling her by those names, while the little ones were taught to say, "Aunt Nita."
She was a trifle shy and reserved at first, but her timidity soon melted away under the sunshine of love that constantly shone upon her. She grew sweetly confiding and affectionate, not to her husband only, but to all his relatives.
Influenced by an ardent desire to be and do all he could wish, she silently took note of all the housewifely ways of his mother and sisters, determined to copy them as nearly as possible when she also should become a housekeeper; rather dreading, too, the coming of the time when she must assume the duties of that position, because she felt herself hardly equal to their full performance.
It was several weeks after their arrival in Pleasant Plains that one day, finding himself alone with her, Rupert asked, "Juanita, my love, which would you prefer, going to housekeeping, or just living on here as we have been doing so far, with my father and mother?"