At first neither Cyrus nor Deborah cared much for Joscelyn . They resented her parentage , her strange , un-Morgan-like name , and the pronounced resemblance she bore to the dark-haired , dark-eyed mother they had never seen . All the Morgans had been fair . If Joscelyn had had Paul 's blue eyes and golden curls her grandfather and grandmother would have loved her sooner . But the love came ... it had to . No living mortal could have resisted Joscelyn . She was the most winsome and lovable little mite of babyhood that ever toddled . Her big dark eyes overflowed with laughter before she could speak , her puckered red mouth broke constantly into dimples and cooing sounds . She had ways that no orthodox Spring Valley baby ever thought of having . Every smile was a caress , every gurgle of attempted speech a song . Her grandparents came to worship her and were stricter than ever with her by reason of their love . Because she was so dear to them she must be saved from her mother 's blood . Joscelyn shot up through a roly-poly childhood into slim , bewitching girlhood in a chill repressive atmosphere . Cyrus and Deborah were nothing if not thorough . The name of Joscelyn 's mother was never mentioned to her ; she was never called anything but Josie , which sounded more `` Christian-like '' than Joscelyn ; and all the flowering out of her alien beauty was repressed as far as might be in the plainest and dullest of dresses and the primmest arrangement possible to riotous ripe-brown curls . The girl was never allowed to visit her Aunt Annice , although frequently invited . Miss Ashton , however , wrote to her occasionally , and every Christmas sent a box of presents which even Cyrus and Deborah Morgan could not forbid her to accept , although they looked with disapproving eyes and ominously set lips at the dainty , frivolous trifles the actress woman sent . They would have liked to cast those painted fans and lace frills and beflounced lingerie into the fire as if they had been infected rags from a pest-house . The path thus set for Joscelyn 's dancing feet to walk in was indeed sedate and narrow . She was seldom allowed to mingle with the young people of even quiet , harmless Spring Valley ; she was never allowed to attend local concerts , much less take part in them ; she was forbidden to read novels , and Cyrus Morgan burned an old copy of Shakespeare which Paul had given him years ago and which he had himself read and treasured , lest its perusal should awaken unlawful instincts in Joscelyn 's heart .
The girl 's passion for reading was so marked XXXXX her grandparents felt that it was their duty to repress it as far as lay in their power .
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