how you can help feeling as you do. Your father
must be a very interesting man and your mother
is certainly a gifted woman.”

“Mother was studying music in Milan when
she met my father, you know.”

Some slight progress had been made in lessons,
but the girls retired earlier than Betty had
supposed they would, for when the maid came
in after rapping, upon some little errand of
Lucia's clothing, Lucia told her that she was
tired and would go to bed very soon. Betty
was only too glad to do the same thing and the
girls soon said goodnight. In a comfortable
bed, under white blankets and a silken comforter,
as Betty noticed, she soon fell to sleep.
It _was_ nice to have a maid fussing around to
do things for you, to open your window just
the right amount, arranging a little screen of
some sort, to see that your clothing was placed
properly. But maids weren't mothers!

Breakfast the girls had alone, as they rose
earlier than either the countess or Mr. Murchison.
Lucia told Betty that it was unusually
early for her on a Saturday morning, but if
they did “Christmas shopping,” they were wise
to have a good start, as the stores would be
full of people. Moreover, the countess herself

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