Nathalie remained silent; there was a note in her mother’s voice that seemed like reproof. A sudden depression seized her again as it came to her with renewed force how helpless she was, what things Helen did to help her mother, and the many useful things the Pioneer girls—plain girls, too, who had never had the advantages that she had had—could do.
But mentally pushing these reproachful thoughts aside with the rebellious feeling that she had never been brought up to do these things, that she had been born a lady, she stooped and kissed her mother hastily and hurriedly joined Grace on the veranda.
“Where shall we walk?” she asked that young girl, as they passed down the street. She glanced up at the blue sky, where snowy clouds drifted like rudderless ships at sea.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, but Mrs. Morrow has asked me to deliver a note to ‘The Mystic.’”
“‘The Mystic?’” echoed Nathalie in doubting amazement, “why I thought she had never had anything to do—”
“To do with the people of the town,” finished Grace. “Well, she doesn’t as a rule, but she is one of Dr. Morrow’s patients and had the grace to return Mrs. Morrow’s call. I hate to go, as I know she dislikes young people, but of course I could not say no to Mrs. Morrow, and then, too, I rather think she is writing to ask her if we could have her lawn for one of our demonstrations. We had a lovely idea for a May-Day celebration, but we had to give it up, as we had no place to hold it.”
“What were you going to have?” inquired Nathalie, as the two girls turned up the hill leading to the big gray house enclosed in its barrier of gray wall.
“We were going to get some ox carts and decorate them with Mayflowers, and parade to the grounds. There we were to choose a queen and dance around the May-pole in welcome to the goddess of spring. Fred was to be Robin Hood—O dear,” she suddenly ejaculated with a dismayed face, “I do believe I left the note at home. What a ninny I am! Why, I pinned it to the cushion so I wouldn’t forget it and then walked straight off and left it.”
The girls stared blankly at one another a moment and then Grace cried, “Come, we might as well go back for it; do you mind? It is only a few blocks out of our way.”
On receiving Nathalie’s assent she added contentedly, “I’ll get Dorcas to make us some lemonade to cool us off, and—why, I can show you my Pioneer room!”