“Mrs. Fuller will be very annoyed, Mr. Fuller, if she doesn’t see Mrs. Bram Fuller and her little girl,” the young woman insisted. “Very well, nurse, if you think it’s wise,” Caleb said. “But I hope this won’t mean an extra visit from the doctor this week.” The bright-eyed young woman was regarding Caleb as a thrush regards a worm before gobbling it up. “It would be extremely unwise to disappoint Mrs. Fuller. She has been counting on this visit ever since she heard yesterday that Mrs. Bram Fuller was coming to Brigham.” “My poor old grandmother works herself up into a great state over every domestic trifle,” Caleb said angrily. “It’s a great pity an old lady like her can’t give up fussing over what happens in the house.” Nancy went into the drawing-room to rescue Letizia from her aunts. “Good-bye—er—Nancy,” said Aunt Achsah. “I hope you won’t think that I am intruding on your private affairs if I say to you how grieved both your Aunt Thyrza and myself are to find that our poor little grand-niece apparently knows nothing whatever about our Heavenly Father. We do hope that you will try to teach her something about Him. Of course, we know that Roman Catholics do not regard God with the same reverence and awe as we do, but still a forward little girl like Letizia should not be allowed to remain in a state of complete ignorance about Him. It’s very shocking.” “Oh, I do so agree with my sister,” Aunt Thyrza sighed earnestly. “Good-bye, Aunt Achsah. Good-bye, Aunt Thyrza,” said Nancy. “Come along, Letizia.” And the way her little daughter danced out of the room beside her mother exactly expressed what she wanted to do herself. CHAPTER XIV LETIZIA THE FIRST “Mrs. Fuller has been so excited ever since the letter came to say that you would pay a visit to Lebanon House,” the nurse stopped to tell Nancy at the head of the stairs, before showing the way along the landing to the old lady’s room. “Are we going to see more aunts, muvver?” Letizia anxiously inquired. “No, darling, you’re going to see dear father’s grannie whom he loved very much; and he would like you to love her very much too.” “Well, I will love her,” Letizia promised. “You must remember that _your_ name is Letizia and that _her_ name is Letizia. You were christened Letizia because father loved his grannie. And remember she is very old and that’s why you’ll find her in bed.” “Will she be like Red Riding Hood’s grannie?” Letizia asked. “Perhaps she will be a little.” “But a naughty wolf won’t come and eat her?” Letizia pressed on a note of faint apprehension. “Oh, no,” her mother assured her. “There are no wolves in this house.” Was it a trick of the gathering dusk, or did the bright-eyed young woman raise her eyebrows and smile to herself at this confident reply?