It was her mother herself who gently put the little fingers away at
last.
“Mother’s own little girl! Good night, my darling, my darling.”
So I took the child away to Phœbe, and came back, and shut the door.
“I thought you might have some message for Roy,” she said.
“Now?”
“Now, I think.”
We had often talked of this, and she had promised to remember it,
whatever it might be. So I told her--But I will not write what I told
her.
I saw that she was playing weakly with her wedding-ring, which hung very
loosely below its little worn guard.
“Take the little guard,” she said, “and keep it for Faith; but bury the
other with me: he put it on; nobody else must take it--”
The sentence dropped, unfinished.
I crept up on the bed beside her, for she seemed to wish it. I asked if
I should light the lamp, but she shook her head. The room seemed light,
she said, quite light. She wondered then if Faith were asleep, and if
she would waken early in the morning.
After that I kissed her, and then we said nothing more, only presently
she asked me to hold her hand.
It was quite dark when she turned her face at last towards the window.
“John!” she said,--“why, John!”
* * * * *
They came in, with heads uncovered and voices hushed, to see her, in the
days while she was lying down stairs among the flowers.
Once when I thought that she was alone, I went in,--it was at
twilight,--and turned, startled by a figure that was crouched sobbing on
the floor.
“O, I want to go too, _I want_ to go too!” it cried.
“She’s ben there all day long,” said Phœbe, wiping her eyes, “and she
won’t go home for a mouthful of victuals, poor creetur! but she jest
sets there and cries and cries, an’ there’s no stoppin’ of her!”
It was little Clo.
At another time, I was there with fresh flowers, when the door opened,
creaking a little, and ’Bin Quirk came in on tiptoe, trying in vain to
still the noise of his new boots. His eyes were red and wet, and he held
out to me timidly a single white carnation.
“Could you put it somewhere, where it wouldn’t do any harm? I walked way
over to Worcester and back to get it. If you could jest hide it under
the others out of sight, seems to me it would do me a sight of good to
feel it was there, you know.”