sake, Rosy wished all to be smooth when her aunt and Nelson arrived,
which was not a _bad_ feeling, if not a very good or unselfish
one. And then, again, she did not want to have any trouble connected
with Bee. She knew her Aunt Edith had not liked the idea of Bee
coming, and that if she fancied the little stranger was the cause of
any worry to her darling she would try to get her sent away. And Rosy
did not now _at all_ want Bee to be sent away!

These different feelings were all making themselves heard rather
confusedly in her heart, and she hardly knew what to answer to Bee's
appeal, when Miss Pink came to the rescue.

"Bee is right, Rosy," she said, her rather dolly-looking face flushing
again. "It is much better to leave things. You may trust me to--to
speak very kindly of--of you _both_. And if I was--at all
mistaken in what I said of you the other day, Bee--perhaps you had
been trying more than I--than I gave you credit for--I'm very sorry.
If I can say anything to put it right, I will. But it is very
difficult to--to tell things quite correctly sometimes. I had been
worried and vexed, and then Mrs. Vincent rather startled me by asking
me about you, Rosy, and by something she said about my not managing
you well. And--oh, I don't know _what_ we would do, my mother and
I, if I lost this nice situation!" she burst out suddenly, forgetting
everything else in her distress. "And poor mamma has been _so_
ill lately, I've often scarcely slept all night. I daresay I've been
cross sometimes"--and Miss Pink finished up by bursting into tears.
Her distress gave the finishing touch to Bee's determination to bear
the undeserved blame.

"No, poor Miss Pink," she said, running round to the little