And to this Dorothea had replied, with a mirthless laugh,—
"Neglect them! If there is any neglect going on, I'm not guilty of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I say. I'm not neglecting anybody."
"You mean—that—that they are neglecting you?"
Dorothea nodded. She could not command her voice to speak further.
Hope was about to protest,—to say that there must be a mistake,—that she had seen nothing, when suddenly the meaning of certain little things, that she had but vaguely noticed at the time, flashed over her, bringing the instantaneous conviction that Dorothea was right. And with this conviction there sprung up in Hope's heart a hot flame of indignation, and she set herself to think what further she could do—what strong measure could be taken—to show these girls that they were not to sit in judgment in this wholesale fashion, and to show them, too, that Dorothea had stanch friends who believed in her virtues, even while they admitted her faults, and would stand by her through thick and thin.
But what could she do further? She had indicated to the girls how friendly she felt toward Dorothea, by bestowing upon her whatever kindly attentions she could,—had walked with her and talked with her, and made little visits to her room, which latter she had never been in the habit of doing before. She had also influenced Kate to join her in these attentions, and Kate had tried to do so,—not always successfully, however; and yet all this had seemed to go for nothing against the tide that had risen against the girl. What more could be done? There was nothing, nothing more.
Yes, yes, yes, there was—there was something more, there was something! And as this "something" flashed into Hope's mind, she seized Dorothea's hands in hers, and—
"Dorothea, Dorothea!" she cried, "I have a plan,—something I want you to do for me and with me. I am to play, you know, at the May festival,—first, something Mr. Kolb has written specially for me; then, later, a waltz also by Mr. Kolb. It is a duet, and Fraulein Schiller was to play it with me; but she has got news of the illness of her mother, and has gone home to Germany, and I have to choose some one to fill her place; and I choose you, if you will take it."