Anna looked desperately and forlornly at the big purple roses. A long pause ensued which Mrs. Langley finally broke. “Anna, I would like to have you bring the baby over here just as often as you can,” she said in a conciliatory way. “Of course it wouldn’t be wise for me to have him in the house all the time in my delicate state of health, as you would know if you were older or had had experience with illness. But I would dearly love to have you bring him over every day besides all Saturday afternoons.” Slow to anger as the girl was, she wasn’t proof against this. She sprang to her feet. “Not on your tintype!” she cried hotly. “That baby shall never come to this house again unless he comes to stay--never! never! I’ve got something else to do than tote him way over here every day, and if you want to see him days you’ve got to shelter him nights. Not that the darling has to go a begging for shelter, for I’m sure I don’t want to give him away. But I’ll give you one more chance. Do you want him to keep, or will you never look on his face again?” Mrs. Langley began to remonstrate peevishly. Anna repeated her demand fiercely. “O Anna, I couldn’t think of doing that. It would break my heart,” Mrs. Langley almost wailed. Anna turned at the door. “Very well, then. It’s settled,” she cried, “and you shall never have him, never! I wanted to keep him myself and now I will and there’ll be no more fussing about it. I shall give up my life to him and never marry. And, believe me, I shall never come near this house again!” “I’m sure, I’m glad to hear that!” retorted Mrs. Langley. “Don’t flatter yourself that it’s any favour to me your coming here and ordering me round and stirring me all up in this fashion. I’ll thank you to pull that curtain down and leave me alone.” Anna yanked at the blind viciously and down it came, fixture and all, with a sad crash. Startled out of her wrath, the girl was ashamed and confused. She was sick at heart, too, with the significance of it, the drawing down of the blind that had let in light for only a fortnight out of twenty-odd years. But she fled precipitately, pausing only to send Bell in to her mistress. And she believed herself to be leaving the house forever. CHAPTER XVIII