But, after all, this was nothing. She did not neglect her mother; that was out of the question.
Up to Town
So it was agreed that Claudia should go. Aunt Jane wrote a letter expressing her joy at the prospect, and Aunt Ruth added a postscript which was as long as the letter, confirming all that her sister had said.
So Claudia went up to town, and was received with open arms by her aunts.
The placid household at St. John's Wood was all the brighter for Claudia's presence; but she could not suffer herself to remain for more than a day or two in the light of an ordinary visitor.
"I came this time, you know," she early explained to Aunt Jane, "on a voyage of exploration."
"Of what, my dear?" said Aunt Jane, to whom great London was still a fearsome place, full of grievous peril.
"Of exploration, you know. I am going to look up a few old friends, and see how they live. They are working women, who——"
"But," said Aunt Jane, "do you think you ought to go amongst the poor alone?"