Before she knew what happened Mary found herself pouring all her troubles into his ear and receiving in return such sympathy and tender understanding as it had never occurred to her to imagine . Mary left the study with her face and eyes so softened that Una hardly knew her . `` Your father 's all right , when he does wake up , '' she said with a sniff that just escaped being a sob . `` It 's a pity he does n't wake up oftener . He said I was n't to blame for Mrs. Wiley dying , but that I must try to think of her good points and not of her bad ones . I dunno what good points she had , unless it was keeping her house clean and making first-class butter . I know I ` most wore my arms out scrubbing her old kitchen floor with the knots in it . But anything your father says goes with me after this . '' Mary proved a rather dull companion in the following days , however . She confided to Una that the more she thought of going back to the asylum the more she hated it . Una racked her small brains for some way of averting it , but it was Nan Blythe who came to the rescue with a somewhat startling suggestion . `` Mrs. Elliott might take Mary herself . She has a great big house and Mr. Elliott is always wanting her to have help . It would be just a splendid place for Mary . Only she 'd have to behave herself . '' `` Oh , Nan , do you think Mrs. Elliott would take her ? '' `` It would n't do any harm if you asked her , '' said Nan . At first Una did not think she could . She was so shy that to ask a favour of anybody was agony to her . And she was very much in awe of the bustling , energetic Mrs. Elliott .
She liked her very much and always enjoyed a visit to her house ; but to go and ask her XXXXX adopt Mary Vance seemed such a height of presumption that Una 's timid spirit quailed .
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