Miss Unity's.
She had slept in it herself as a child, and though there was not much
pink left in the chintz now, there were still some pictures and small
ornaments remaining from that time. It had a pleasant look-out, too, on
to the quiet green Close, and was altogether a contrast to the dark
sombrely furnished room Pennie had been occupying. So after Betty had
scoured and cleaned and aired as much as she thought fit, Pennie and all
her small belongings were settled into the pink-chintz roomy and it
turned out that her stay there was to be a long one. The news from
Easney did not improve. Dickie certainly had the measles, the baby soon
followed her example, and shortly afterwards Ambrose took it, so that
Nancy and David were the only two down-stairs.

"What a good thing, my dear, that you were here!" said Miss Unity kindly
to her guest. Pennie was obliged to answer "Yes" for the sake of
politeness, but in truth she thought she would rather risk the measles
and be at home.

Nearminster was nice in many ways and Miss Unity was kind, but it was so
dreadfully dull as time went on to have no one of her own age to talk to
about things. There were the Merridews, but in spite of Miss Unity's
praises Pennie did not like them any better, and had not become more
familiar with them. She had certainly plenty of conversation with her
godmother, who did her best to sympathise except on the subject of
Kettles; but nothing made up for the loss of Nancy and her brothers--not
even the long letters which the former sent now and then from Easney,
written in a bold sprawling hand, covering three sheets of paper, and a
good deal blotted. Here is one of these epistles:--

"_My dear Pennie,--Dickie got up and had chicken for dinner to-day, and
was very frackshus. Ambrose is in bed still. He has Guy Manring read
aloud to him, and he will toss his arms out of bed at the egsiting
parts; so mother says she must leave off. David and I have lessons.
David said yesterday he would rather have meesles than do his sums, so
Miss Grey said he was ungrateful. I never play with the dolls now_.
_If you were here we could play their having meesles, but it is no good
alone. Baby had the meesles worst of all. Doctor Banks comes every
day. He has a new grey horse. Have you been to see old Nurse lately?
and have you seen Kettles? Dickie sends you these sugar kisses she made
herself. She burnt her fingers and screamed for nearly an hour.--Your