She sent Ruth erelong to order the horses. Hope collected her
various wrappers, and Ruth, returning, got her mistress into a
state of preparation.
"If I might say one thing more," Hope whispered.
"Certainly," said her aunt. "Ruth, go to my chamber, and get
me a pin."
"What kind of a pin, ma'am?" asked that meek handmaiden, from
the doorway.
"What a question!" said her indignant mistress. "Any kind. The
common pin of North America. Now, Hope?" as the door closed.
"I think it better, auntie," said Hope, "that Philip should not
stay here longer at present. You can truly say that the house
is full, and--"
"I have just had a note from him," said Aunt Jane severely. "He
has gone to lodge at the hotel. What next?"
"Aunt Jane," said Hope, looking her full in the face, "I have
not the slightest idea what to do next."
("The next thing for me," thought her aunt, "is to have a
little plain speech with that misguided child upstairs.")
"I can see no way out," pursued Hope.
"Darling!" said Aunt Jane, with a voice full of womanly
sweetness, "there is always a way out, or else the world would
have stopped long ago. Perhaps it would have been better if it
had stopped, but you see it has not. All we can do is, to live
on and try our best."
She bade Hope leave Emilia to her, and furthermore stipulated
that Hope should go to her pupils as usual, that afternoon, as
it was their last lesson. The young girl shrank from the
effort, but the elder lady was inflexible. She had her own
purpose in it. Hope once out of the way, Aunt Jane could deal
with Emilia.
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