"I had a husband," continued old Mrs. Croft, raising her voice from Do to Re, "and such a one! Wednesday he'd go to sleep and Thursdays he'd wake, so regular you could tell the days of the week just from his habits. He--" "Miss Grey wants--" interrupted Katie. "I came to--" said Jane. "I had a husband," continued old Mrs. Croft, going from Re to Mi now; "oh, my, but I did have a husband. In May I had him and in December I had him, but he was always the same to me. You can see his picture there, Miss Grey; it's all faded out, just from being looked at; but I'll tell you where it never fades, Miss Grey--it never so much as turns a hair in my heart. My heart is engraved--" "You'd better go on and say what you've got to say," said Katie to Jane. "I often put her to bed talking, and she talks all the night through." "I want to ask you--" Jane began. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," sang Mrs. Croft. "Oh, I had--" "--I want you to come and stay with us," Jane said, with forceful accents. There was a sudden tense hush. "My aunt and I want you to come and make us a little visit," the caller added. The hush grew awful. "A little change would be so good for you--you've been shut up so long." Old Mrs. Croft lifted her two hands towards the ceiling. "What do you want to take me out of my own house for? Going to do something to it that I wouldn't approve, I expect. Oh, I see it all. There was Macbeth and there was Othello, and now there's my house--What are you going to do to it, anyhow?" The question was pitched so high and sharp that Jane jumped. "We just want to give you a little change." "Change! I had a change once. Went to Cuba with my husband and nearly died. I don't want no change of _house_," with deep meaning in the emphasis; "the change that I want is another change. Change is a great thing to have. My husband never changed. Only his collars. Never no other way." "You and Aunt Susan are old friends--" suggested Jane. "Never nothing special," broke in old Mrs. Croft. "My goodness, I do hope your aunt ain't calling me her friend, because if she is, it's a thing I can't allow." Jane thanked her stars that her powers of mental concentration forbade her mind to wander. "I'm sure if you came to us, you'd enjoy it," she said persuasively; "we've such a pretty bedroom down-stairs, and I'll sleep on the dining-room sofa, so you won't feel lonely." "Lonely. I never feel lonely. I'd thank Heaven if I could be let alone for a little, once in a while. I don't want to come, and that's a fact. If that be treason, make the most of it." "Oh, but you must come," said Jane; "you'll like it. We want you, and you must come." "Well, get me my bonnet then," said old Mrs. Croft. "Run, Katie, I've been sitting here waiting for it for over an hour." Katie and Jane regarded one another in consternation. They hadn't quite counted on this.