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Did neither parades nor circuses mysterious wanderings nor mysterious triumphs affect her? "The show is about to begin," murmured Miss Theodosia. It began immediately. Evangeline came bursting in upon them, waving a blue ribbon. She was a fresh and radiant Evangeline. "Stefana says I can't stay only a minute.
"Good!" he hazarded at random. It was always good to find things. But he wondered at the radiance. "My romance that I knew was somewhere. I've found it! I told you so!" "Found it where?" he demanded. He was unconsciously stirred by her emotion. He followed her glance to the little House of Flaggs. "Not there?" "Yes, there. Stefana is dreaming it over a lapful of red roses.
The Buongiovannis good heavens! the Buongiovannis why, despite all their rank and lineage and the money they still possess, it will be a great honour for them to have a handsome young man with a noble heart as their son-in-law!" Again did Stefana assume an expression of placid satisfaction. She had certainly only come there for approval.
She had not thought to do it herself, but he a man creature Miss Theodosia's eyes were tender. Stefana was still sitting among her roses. They lay across her lap. "Oh! Oh, come right in, Miss Theodosia!" she cried welcomingly. "But please to excuse me for not getting up I can't bear to disturb them. Seems as if I could sit right straight in this chair till they withered!
Don't any of you dare to kiss Elly Precious good-by!" Miss Theodosia was moving briskly about the room, doing strange things, pulling down shades and drawing together draperies. "Mustn't have too much light, though maybe that is later on, too. I'm sure there is something about being careful of the eyes. Evangeline, wait! Let Stefana go. I don't trust you; you might kiss him."
But she halted at the foot of the steps. "This is Stefana," she introduced politely. "Stefana, you ain't goin' to? You look 'xactly as if you was. Mercy gracious!" "Yes," Stefana returned gravely, "I am. Now, you go. Remember the soup!" Miss Theodosia's interested gaze left the retreating little figure and came back to Stefana and Elly Precious.
It seemed little short of irreverence to have seen at all that picture of Stefana rocking her roses in the little wooden rocker. Miss Theodosia slipped away with it hung on the walls of her mind she would never take it down. John Bradford was coming along the road and she went a little way to meet him. Some of Stefana's radiance was in her own face. "I've found it," she announced in soft triumph.
Evangeline led, with the effect of walking backward though she walked straight ahead and waving a baton. Stefana had Elly Precious, and Carrathers tramped soberly behind, in time to that imaginary wand. Miss Theodosia's fascinated gaze was riveted to the procession's arms. The wonder grew with nearness. Every individual parader in the procession wore a somber black arm-band.
"Red red red," chanted Evangeline "Thirteen red roses an' thirteen long stems. In a pasteboard box with 'Miss Stefana Flagg' wrote on it. You ought to seen how Miss Stefana Flagg looked! She she kissed the box. I guess now she's kissin' the roses. She never 'spected to have any roses till she was dead. An' then she couldn't 've kissed 'em an' cried at the stems," added Evangeline softly.
She was suddenly a softened little Evangeline, curiously gentled by Stefana's sweet, red roses. Miss Theodosia caught her breath at the sight of the child's face and the thought of Stefana kissing her roses. "I wish I wish you'd go over an' congratcherlate Stefana," whispered Evangeline. "She'd be so tickled. I'll keep Elly Precious ever here, an' Carruthers is playin' ball in a field."
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