They offered her companionship through the night; any one of them would
willingly sleep with her; but she said she was not timid and would prefer
to remain alone.
"Well, dear, I should feel a trifle easier not to have you alone," Elsie
said, as she bade her good-night, "but we will not force our company upon
you. None of us lock our doors at night, and my rooms are not far away;
don't hesitate to wake me, if you feel uneasy or want anything in the
night."
"Thank you, dear mamma," returned Zoe, putting her arms about her mother's
neck; "you are so good and kind! such a dear mother to me! I will do as
you say; if I feel at all timid in the night I shall run to your rooms and
creep into bed with you."
So they all left her, and the house grew silent and still.
It was the first night since her marriage that her husband had not been
with her, and she missed him more than ever. Besides, through the day she
had been buoyed up in a measure by the hope that he would send her a
note, a telegram, or some sort of message.
He had not done so, and the conviction that she had quite alienated him
from her grew stronger and stronger.
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