Esther woke from a troubled sleep that night, to find June standing beside her. Pale moonlight shone into the room from half-drawn blinds, filling it with an eerie light, as Esther started up trembling and frightened.
“What is it? is anything the matter? Oh, I thought you were a ghost!” She clutched at June with both hands. “Oh, is anything the matter?” she asked again.
June laughed nervously; she found matches and lit a candle, then she came back to Esther and thrust something into her hands.
“You’ll never forgive me,” she said. “But I’ve had it in my coat pocket for two days....” She pushed her dark hair back from her forehead tragically. “Lydia gave it to me for you the day I went out in my best hat to meet George, and I was such a selfish, conceited pig that he put everything else out of my head, and I forgot all about it till just now, when I was lying awake thinking ... and then ... oh, Esther, it’s from Micky!”
Esther looked down at the crumpled envelope––
“From––Micky?...” she said. She was only half awake; she made a very fair picture there with her long hair tumbling about her shoulders, and her face a little flushed and startled.
June turned to the door.
“I’ll go away––you don’t want me.... I’ll go–––” but Esther caught her hand.
“No––no.... Wait! please wait!”
“Very well––but I’m half frozen....” June looked plaintively at Esther, but Esther had forgotten her, and 299 she dragged the quilt from the bed, and wrapped it round her small figure till she looked like a mummy.