at her anxious bidding, assured her it meant
nothing, that Miss Merton was recovering as rapidly as possible; but
Patricia was so disturbed and unhappy over her friend's condition that
she sat down and telephoned to Elinor that she could not go to the opera
with them and that she had asked Constance Fellows and Marie Graham--the
shabby entertaining friend--to go in the place of Rosamond and herself.

To Elinor's expostulations and arguments, she had one answer: "She has
been too good to me for me to leave her now," and her disappointed
sister was forced to be content with that.

When, the next morning, she found that Rosamond was fulfilling the
doctor's predictions and getting well by leaps, she was not sorry for
her self-denial.

"I'm glad I could do it for her," she said, nodding at herself in the
quaint mirror above her dresser. "I shall always do things for her,
because I just _love_ to."

CHAPTER XI

THE REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL

"I think Miss Pat is simply foolish over Miss Merton," said Judith, with
an uneasy note in her calm voice. "We haven't seen anything of her for a
week, and now she's trying to back out of coming Sunday night, just
because her Rosamond is going to sing at Mrs. Filmore's and they've
asked Miss Pat to come and worship."

Elinor had just come in. Her cheeks were tinted with the crisp air and
her eyes were dancing with the brisk walk home through the Park. She
tossed her muff on the divan and made a laughing face at her disturbed
small sister.

"Never mind, Judy, you still have us," she said brightly. "Constance is
coming and Doris Leighton too, and we'll have to give Miss Pat up to
such a fine opportunity. Rosamond has not been singing 'publicly,' as
she calls it, so it will be a great treat, no doubt."

"Yes, but she will simply have to miss it," declared Judith firmly.
"Tell her, will you, Elinor, when she comes in that she must come
tomorrow?"

Elinor hesitated, and Judith burst out, "Well, then, if I have to tell!
Mrs. Shelly told me that Mrs. Nat was coming in to surprise us, and of
course Miss Pat must be here."

"What's that about me?" asked Patricia, appearing in the doorway from
the bedroom, where she had been sewing a button on her glove while she
waited for Elinor to come home. "Who's requesting the pleasure of my
society?"

"Judith was telling me some very good reasons why you should come to the
Sunday spread," answered Elinor quietly. She scanned her sister's