But it was not
yet too late to undo the harm, for a generous, warm heart lay
under her affected indifference and ambition; and her parents had
been wiser than they realized, when they sent their daughters East
to be educated, and left them in the care of the motherly woman
whose social position was too assured to have her feel the need
for striving, and who, like Mrs. Adams, believed that a woman's
highest life lay in her home and children, and that society was
incidental, rather than the main end in view.
There were times, and they were by no means rare, when Katharine's
native sweetness showed itself, and then the girls welcomed her to
their circle. Florence was her favorite among them, while she
openly courted Alan's favor, to the amusement of the boy's mother,
who smiled quietly to herself over his unconsciousness of her
attempts and his continued, unswerving devotion to Polly.
"But what I don't understand," she said to Florence, one day, when
they were out for a walk together, "is how you girls ever happened
to pick up Jean Dwight."
"Pick her up? What do you mean?" asked Florence, meeting her
friend's look with a glance which was almost defiant, for she was
too loyal to Jean to fail to notice the scorn in Katharine's tone
and manner.
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