"You can dance some of them. And that's my price."
To promise him dances seemed to her quite delicious and delightful since she could not dance at all. But he made a little contract and had her sign it, and put it in his pocket.
Going home Anne had little to say. It was Geoffrey who talked, while Beulah slept in a seat by herself.
Anne made her own lovely gown, running over now and then to take surreptitious peeps at Cynthia's portrait. She had let Mrs. Brooks into her secret, and the little lady was enthusiastic.
"You shall wear my pearls, my dear. They will be very effective in your dark hair."
She brought the jewels down in an old blue velvet box—milk-white against a yellowed satin lining.
"My father gave them to me on my wedding day. Some day I shall give them to Richard's wife."
She could not know how her words stirred the heart of the girl who stood looking so quietly down at the pearls.
"I am almost afraid to wear them," Anne said breathlessly. She gave Nancy a shy little kiss. "You were dear to think of it."