"Ah, I have not changed toward you! I shall never change toward
you!"
"Are you too happy to care for me any longer?"
"Ah, Kate, I am not too happy for anything. Some day you will
understand."
She leaned far out and waved her hand as she drove away, and then
she threw herself back into the carriage. "Dear injured friend!
Brave loyal woman'" she cried, "the men we loved have ruined both
our lives; and we who never had a secret from each other meet and
part as hypocrites to shield them. Drive home," she said to the
driver. "If any one motions to stop, pay no attention. Drive
fast."
Mrs. Osborn watched the carriage out of sight and then walked
slowly back to her work. She folded the soft white fabric over the
cushions and then laid her cheek against it and gave it its first
christening--the christening of tears.