But she said she didn't want anything, only to rest a few minutes, and
that there was something she wanted me to tell Peter. She couldn't come
in the evening to see him without every one wanting to know why she
came. There was some terrible trouble about Peggy's engagement. She
flushed up and hesitated, and when I broke in to say, "You needn't
bother to explain, I know all about the whole thing," she didn't seem
at all surprised or ask how I knew--she only seemed relieved to find
that she could go right on. I never can be demonstrative to her before
people, but I just put my arms around her now when she said:
"It's a great comfort to be able to come to you, Lorraine, and speak
out. At home your dear grandmother considers me so much--she only
thinks of everything as it affects me, but it makes it so that I can't
always show what I feel, for if I do she gets ill. All _I_ can think of
is Peggy. If you knew what it was to me just now when my little Peggy
went away from me and locked herself in her room--Peggy, who all her
life has always come to me for comfort--"
She stopped for a minute, and I patted her. It was so unlike my
mother-in-law to speak in this way; she's usually so self-contained
that it made me sort of awestruck. After a moment she went on in a
different voice:
"They all want me to tell Cyrus--your father--that Aunt Elizabeth has
been trying to take Mr.
Pages:
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102