ped at the fish-market and bought some oysters; and Mrs. Anderson
had taught Charlotte how to make a stew, and retreated before it was
quite time for Carroll to arrive. She felt in her heart of hearts
that she could not see him yet. Even her love for the girl did not
yet reconcile her to Carroll. Charlotte was so glad that her little
purse was in her coat-pocket and that she had enough money to pay for
the oysters. She felt that she could not have borne it had she been
obliged to borrow money of Mrs. Anderson. She felt that it would
reflect upon her father. Already she had an instinctive jealousy on
her father's account. She loved Mrs. Anderson, but she felt vaguely
that not enough was said, even there was not enough anxiety
displayed, with regard to her father. She reflected with the fiercest
loyalty that even although she did love Mr. Anderson, although she
had let him kiss her, although at the mere memory thrills of delight
overwhelmed her, she would not ever admit even to herself that he was
any better than her father--her poor father who had been hurt and
whom everybody was blaming and accusing. Directly after Mrs. Anderson
and the maid had gone, she began making the oyster-stew. It would not
be quite so good as if she had waited until her father had really
arrived, and Mrs. Anderson had told her so, but Charlotte could not
bear to wait. She wished him to have something nice and hot the
minute he came in. The water boiled and she made the tea. Mrs.
Anderson had said that the tea might be better for him than coffee,
and she also made toast. Then she went again into the parlor to the
window, as she had done the night before; but it was all so different
now. She was so happy that she was confused by it. She had not been
brought up, as one would say, religiously, although she had always
gone to church, but now she realized a strange uplifting of her
thoughts above the happiness itself, to a sense of God. She was
conscious of a thankfulness which at once exalted and humbled her.
She sat down beside the window and looked out, and everything, every
dry spear of grass and every slender twig on the trees, was streaming
like rainbows in the frosty air. It came to her what an unspeakable
blessing it was that she had been allowed to come into a world where
there were so many rainbows and so much happiness, and how nothing
but more rainbows and happiness could come of these. That there was
nothing whatever to dread in the future