It was truly, and this was Marcia's surprise to her sisters. With Horace's help, who had come forward rather liberally with his purse, the room had been repapered; it had practically been refurnished. The commonplace beds were exchanged for brass ones, the commonplace furniture for new, artistic wash-handstands and chests of drawers and wardrobes. The shabby carpet was replaced by one of neat pale blue felt; there were a few good pictures on the walls; there were pale blue hangings to the windows, and Nesta's room just beyond was a replica of her sisters'. The girls turned; it was Ethel who made the first step forward. "I wouldn't have known it--why, you are a darling!" "And to think we ever called you Miss Mule Selfish!" said Nesta. "Miss--what!" said Marcia. "I won't repeat it--forget it." "But tell me--it did sound so funny. Miss _what_ Selfish?" "Miss Mule Selfish. Oh, I never will again--I declare I am a greater beast than ever." "Well, girls, what _I_ want you to do for me is this--In return for the trouble--for I have taken trouble, and Horace has spent money on your rooms as well--I want you to learn self-repression. I want you to put on neat and pretty dresses, and shoes that won't make any sound, and then you may, one by one, come in and see mother. She is longing for you, longing for her own children; for much as she cares for me, I cannot take your place, so you needn't imagine it for one moment." As Marcia said the last words she left the room. The girls stood and stared at each other. "She's a brick!" said Molly. "I shouldn't be one scrap ashamed of showing this room to Clay, and I never could bear the thought of her coming up to it in the old days." "I say, what a jolly bed," said Ethel. "Shouldn't I just like to tumble into it and sleep and sleep." "And my darling little room all alone, too. Don't you envy me, you two? Won't you be always afraid that I'm eavesdropping and listening to your precious secrets?" cried the irrepressible Nesta. "Oh, it is good," said Molly, "but I feel quite a big ache at my heart. It's Marcia, and we've been so horrid to her, and she has been so good to us." "Well, let's try hard to show her that we're really pleased," said Ethel. The girls washed their hands and combed out their luxurious hair and made themselves as smart as possible, and then, an anxious trio, they went out and stood on the landing. Here it was Nesta who began to tremble. "It's that old patch in the carpet," she said. "It upsets me more than anything. I remember how I tried to skip over it that night when I went to listen at mother's door. Oh dear, and the carpet is split here too. Marcia might have got new carpets for the stairs instead of titivating our rooms." "Marcia only thinks of what will please others," said Ethel. "For goodness' sake, don't praise her too much," said Molly, "or I shall turn round. I always do when people are overpraised."