And this it was which so disturbed Mrs. Richards' peace of mind. She
could not go to Kentucky, and she might as well have saved the money she
had expended in getting her black silk velvet dress fixed for the
occasion, while, worst of all, she must have John's wife there for
months, perhaps, whether she liked it or not, and she must also fit up
the rooms with paper and paint and carpets, notwithstanding that she'd
nothing to do it with, unless Anna generously gave the necessary sum
from her own yearly income. Anna assented to that, and said she would
try to spare the money. Rose could make the carpets, and that would save
a little.
"I wish, too, mother," she added, "that you would let her arrange the
rooms altogether. She has exquisite taste, besides the faculty of making
the most of things. Our house never looked so well as it has since she
came. Somehow Eudora and Asenath have such a stiff set way of putting
the furniture."
So it was Anna who selected the tasteful carpet for 'Lina's boudoir, and
the bedchamber beyond it, but it was Adah who made it, Adah who, with
Willie playing on the floor, bent so patiently over the heavy fabric,
sometimes wiping away the bitter tears as she thought of the days
preceding her own bridal, and of her happiness, even though no fingers
were busy for her in the home where they were too proud to receive her.
Where was that home? Was it North or South, East or West, and what was
it like? She had no idea, though, sometimes fancy had whispered that it
might have been like Terrace Hill, that George's haughty mother, who had
threatened to turn her from the door, was a second Mrs. Richards, and
then an involuntary prayer of thanksgiving escaped her lips for the
trial she had escaped.
Frequently doubts crossed her mind as to the future, when it might be
known that she came from Spring Bank, and knew the expected bride. Would
she not be blamed as a party in the deception? Ought she not to tell
Anna frankly that she knew her brother's betrothed? She did not know,
and the harassing anxiety wore upon her faster than all the work she had
to do.
Anna seemed very happy. Excitement was what she needed, and never since
her girlish days had she been so bright and active as she was now,
assisting Adah in her labors, and watching the progress of affairs. The
new carpets looked beautiful when upon the floor, and gave to the rooms
a new and cozy aspect. The muslin curtains, done up by the laundress so
carefully, lest they should drop to pieces, looked almost as good as
new, and no one would have suspected that the pretty cornice had been
made from odds and ends found by Adah in an ancient box up in the
lumber-room. The white satin bows which looped the curtains back, were
tied by Adah's hands.