Dorothea turned and looked out across the country through which they were slowly driving. She was quite sure in her own mind that there would be no need of any one’s telling April about Lee Hendon. CHAPTER XI A KNOCK ON THE WINDOW By the time the girls had arrived at the May house once more they had reached the conclusion that Harriot should speak to her mother about Mrs. Hendon’s death. Mrs. May could then determine whether she wanted to tell April or not. “Of course, if she learns about it,” Harriot said thoughtfully, “it’ll spoil April’s good time at the party to-night, though you would never guess it. She’d just be gayer than ever. But mother will know what’s best to do about that.” Dorothea agreed that this was the wisest procedure and kept her own thoughts on the matter to herself. She had no wish to complicate an already delicate situation. “But the news from England won’t help to make the party a very gay one, I’m afraid,” she remarked a little later. “Oh, don’t notice Corinne’s foolishness; we wouldn’t let any one think we cared about _that_,” Harriot replied scornfully. “If it is true that England won’t recognize us any more, we can’t help it; but we won’t stop fighting. We’ll fight all the harder. We aren’t going to sit down and cry over it.” Dorothea, having grown up among people who took particular note of the more serious happenings in the world, had an adequate idea of the seriousness of this decision of the land of her birth. She did not believe that Harriot had any comprehension of how great a difference it would make to the Confederacy to have the British Government withhold all help and sympathy from the Southern cause. She appreciated that while the English people might still, and probably did, retain the same views upon the rights and wrongs of this war in America, and no doubt would continue to wish the South to win, that would not help rebel ships to refit in English ports—and where else was the South to go to replenish her fast disappearing resources? “It _must_ make a difference,” Dorothea thought. “We shall have a pretty doleful party, in spite of what Harriot says.” But she let her cousin talk on about the prospective gayety uncontradicted. “Of course,” said Harriot, “it won’t be anything like our parties were before this war began, but we’ll have a good time all the same and you needn’t worry about partners.”