That evening, after tea, Kathie touched her aunt's arm as they were leaving the dining-room.
'I want to speak to you a moment, aunty,' she said, and Miss Clotilda turned back with her.
'Do you remember, aunty,' she said, 'that one day, when I first came, you said you would show me some of the pieces of old silk and things of Mrs. Wynne's? And I think you said you'd give me one or two. Would you let us see them? And do you think you could give Phil some? She's taken such a fancy in her head;' and Kathie went on to explain about the box going out to India, and the pincushion old Mrs. Davis had shown them, which Philippa so much wished to copy for her mother.
'And,' Kathie went on, 'I've another idea too. We were thinking it would be very difficult to get a box to make it with. That morning when the cupboard was left open in my room, I saw several old pincushions that you said you had meant to cover fresh. Might, oh! might we have two of them? We could easily get some plain thin silk for lining them with—Phil has some money, and I have a very little—if some of the nice old pieces would do for the outside.'
Miss Clotilda looked a little bewildered.
'Two, my dear?' she said. 'I thought it was Philippa who wanted to make one. Do you want one too?'
Kathie blushed a little.
'They said,' she began, 'Neville and Phil said, it would be so nice if I made one for mamma too. I've never made her anything—I don't like sewing, you know, aunty, and she's always writing about things like that.'
Miss Clotilda patted Kathie's head.