And now to her brother,
anxiously awaiting his verdict, he spoke his mind.
"If you'll let me be very frank with you, Thorne," he said, "I'll tell
you just what I think about Evelyn, and just what it seems to me is the
proper course for us to take with her."
"Go ahead; it's exactly that I want," Lee declared. "I know well enough
that my care of her has been seriously at fault."
"Never in intention," said Doctor Churchill, "only in the excess of your
tenderness. Evelyn has lived in overheated rooms, with hot baths,
insufficient exercise, and improper food. In the kindness of your heart
you have been nourishing a little hot-house plant, and there's no
occasion for surprise that it wilts at the first blast of ordinary air."
Lee looked dismayed.
"I'm mighty sorry, Andy," he said, remorsefully.
"Don't feel too badly," was his friend's reply. "After a winter with us
Evelyn will be another girl."
"What?" Lee started in his chair. "Andy, what are you thinking about?"
"Just what I say. Charlotte and I have talked it all over. We've both
taken an immense liking to Evelyn and we'd honestly enjoy having her
here for the winter.
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