I can’t tell you what a surprise it was to hear from you, and how much greater a surprise it was to have you ask me to come and live with you.
I had decided to go abroad and do Red Cross work, and was about to accept a position that had been offered me when your letter arrived. (“Humph!” murmured Ellen.)
But you write that you are alone in the world and not very well, and this being the case, I feel my place is with you.
You are my only relative, and I should be a very poor-spirited Webster indeed did I not acknowledge that your claim comes before any other. Therefore I shall be glad to come to New Hampshire and avail myself of your hospitality. I presume you have found, as I have, that living entirely for one’s self is not very satisfactory after all. Since my father’s death 18 I have had no one to look after and have felt lonely, useless, and selfish in consequence.
I am certain that in attempting to make you happy, I shall find happiness myself, and I assure you that I will do all I can to be helpful.
If all goes well I should arrive at Sefton Falls in about ten days. In the meantime, I send my warmest thanks for your kindness and the affectionate greetings of
Your niece,
Lucy Harmon Webster.
After she had finished reading the letter, Ellen sat tapping her foot impatiently upon the floor. She was nettled, angry.
She did not at all relish having this child turn the tables on her charity and make of it a favor. As for the girl’s sentimental nonsense about its not being satisfactory to live alone, what was she talking about? Living alone was the most satisfactory thing in the world. Did it not banish all the friction of opposing wills and make of one a monarch? No, she did not like the letter, did not like it.