How are you?"

"Oh much better, thank you," said Maggie. "Ever so much better."

"No, you're not," said Miss Avies. "And you're only lying when you say
you are. You'll never get better unless you do what I tell you--"

"What's that?" asked Maggie.

"Face things. Face everything. Have it all out. Don't leave a bit of it
alone, and then just keep what's useful."

"I don't quite know what you mean," said Maggie--but the faint colour
had faded from her cheeks and her hands had run together for protection.

Miss Avies's voice softened--"I'm probably going away very soon," she
said, "going away and not coming back. All my work's over here. But I
wanted to see you before I went. You remember another talk we had here?"

"Very well," said Maggie.

"You remember what I told you?"

"You told me not to stay here," said Maggie.

"Yes, I did," said Miss Avies, "and I meant it. The matter with you is
that you've been kept here all this time without any proper work to do
and that's been very bad for you and made you sit with your hands
folded in front of you, your head filling with silly fancies."

Maggie couldn't help smiling at this description of herself.

"Oh, you smile," said Miss Avies vigorously, "but it's perfectly true."

"Well, it's all right now." said Maggie, "because I am going away--as
soon as ever I'm well enough." "What to do?" asked Miss Avies.

"I don't quite know yet," said Maggie.

"Well, I know," said Miss Avies. "You're going away to brood over that
young man."

Maggie said nothing.

"Oh I know ... It seems cruel of me to speak of it just when you've had
such a bad time, but it's kindness really. If I don't force you to
think it all out and face it properly you'll be burying it in some
precious spot and always digging it up to look at it. You face it, my
girl. You say to yourself--well, he wasn't such a wonderful young man
after all. I can lead my life all right without him--of course I can.
I'm not going to be dependent on him and sigh and groan and waste away
because I can't see him. I know what it is. I've been through it
myself."

Then there was a pause; then Maggie suddenly looked up and smiled.

"But you're quite wrong, Miss Avies. I've no intention of not facing
Martin, and I've no intention either of having my life ruined because
he's not here. At first, when I was very ill, I was unhappy, and then I
saw how silly I was."

"Why?" said Miss Avies with great pleasure. "You've got over