h confided to Anne her fears
regarding Miss Lavendar. The warm-hearted little handmaiden was honestly
worried over her adored mistress' condition.

"Miss Lavendar isn't well, Miss Shirley, ma'am. I'm sure she isn't,
though she never complains. She hasn't seemed like herself this long
while, ma'am . . . not since that day you and Paul were here together
before. I feel sure she caught cold that night, ma'am. After you and him
had gone she went out and walked in the garden for long after dark with
nothing but a little shawl on her. There was a lot of snow on the walks
and I feel sure she got a chill, ma'am. Ever since then I've noticed her
acting tired and lonesome like. She don't seem to take an interest in
anything, ma'am. She never pretends company's coming, nor fixes up for
it, nor nothing, ma'am. It's only when you come she seems to chirk up a
bit. And the worst sign of all, Miss Shirley, ma'am . . ." Charlotta the
Fourth lowered her voice as if she were about to tell some exceedingly
weird and awful symptom indeed . . . "is that she never gets cross now
when I breaks things. Why, Miss Shirley, ma'am, yesterday I bruk
her green and yaller bowl that's always stood on the bookcase. Her
grandmother brought it out from England and Miss Lavendar was awful
choice of it. I was dusting it just as careful, Miss Shirley, ma'am, and
it slipped out, so fashion, afore I could grab holt of it, and bruk into
about forty millyun pieces. I tell you I was sorry and scared. I thought
Miss Lavendar would scold me awful, ma'am; and I'd ruther she had than
take it the way she did. She just come in and hardly looked at it and
said, 'It's no matter, Charlotta. Take up the pieces and throw them
away.' Just like that, Miss Shirley, ma'am . . . 'take up the pieces and
throw them away,' as if it wasn't her grandmother's bowl from England.
Oh, she isn't well and I feel awful bad about it. She's got nobody to
look after her but me."

Charlotta the Fourth's eyes brimmed up with tears. Anne patted the
little brown paw holding the cracked pink cup sympathetically.

"I think Miss Lavendar needs a change, Charlotta. She stays here alone
too much. Can't we induce her to go away for a little trip?"

Charlotta shook her head, with its rampant bows, disconsolately.

"I don't think so, Miss Shirley, ma'am. Miss Lavendar hates visiting.
She's only got three relations she ever visits and she says she just
goes to see them as a family duty. Last time when