And she will be away several
days,--several days, Betty Jo." She repeated the words in a whisper.
"And during those several days, you are to keep house for the man you
love;--the man who loves you;--the man whom you must keep from telling
you his love,--no matter how your heart pleads for him to tell you, you
must not permit him to speak. He will be coming in to breakfast in a few
minutes, and you will sit down at the table with him,--across the table
from him,--facing him,--Betty Jo,--just like--"
She looked in the little mirror that hung beside the kitchen window,
and, with dismay, saw her face flushed with color that was not caused by
the heat of the stove. "And you will be forced to look at him across the
table, and he will look at you,--and--and you must not,--" she stamped
her foot,--"you dare not look like THAT, Betty Jo.
"And then there will be the dinner that you will cook for him, and the
supper; and the evenings on the porch. O Lord! Betty Jo, what ever will
you do? How will you ever save the fineness of your love? If you were
afraid to trust yourself with the help of Auntie Sue's presence, what
in the world can you do without her--and you actually keeping house
with him? Oh, Auntie Sue! Auntie Sue!" she groaned, "you are the dearest
woman in the world and the best and wisest, but you have blundered
terribly this time! Why DID you do such a thing! It is not fair to him!
It is not fair to me! It is not fair to our love!
"All of which,"--the practical Betty Jo declared a moment later, wiping
her eyes on the corner of her apron, and going into the other room to
set the table for breakfast,--"all of which, Betty Jo, does not in the
least help matters, and only makes you more nervous and upset than you
are.
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