"Shy, sick, and sad;
poor soul, we must lend a hand and cheer her up a bit" thought
David, as he watched her eyes turn toward the green tilings in the
windows with a bright, soft look, he liked to see.
"Come to the conservatory in an hour, and I'll show you the best
part of a 'German,'" he said, with a nod and a smile, as he went
away, beginning to whistle like a boy when the door was shut behind
him.
"What did he mean?" thought Christie, as she helped clear the table,
and put every thing in Pimlico order.
She was curious to know, and when Mrs. Sterling said: "Now, my dear,
I am going to take my nap, and thee can help David if thee likes,"
she was quite ready to try the new work.
She would have been more than woman if she had not first slipped
upstairs to smooth her hair, put on a fresh collar, and a black silk
apron with certain effective frills and pockets, while a scarlet
rigolette replaced the hood, and lent a little color to her pale
cheeks.
"I am a poor ghost of what I was," she thought; "but that's no
matter: few can be pretty, any one can be neat, and that is more
than ever necessary here."
Then she went away to the conservatory, feeling rather oppressed
with the pity and sympathy, for which there was no call, and
fervently wishing that David would not be so comfortable, for he ate
a hearty dinner, laughed four times, and whistled as no heart-broken
man would dream of doing.
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