I 've heard that Aunt Flora 's hair turned snow-white in a month . I 'll take you up to see her some day when I find time . '' Mrs. Hewitt did not find time , but thereafter Constance ordered her rambles that she might frequently pass Heartsease Farm . The quaint old spot had a strange attraction for her . She found herself learning to love it , and so unused was this unfortunate girl to loving anything that she laughed at herself for her foolishness . One evening a fortnight later Constance , with her arms full of ferns and wood-lilies , came out of the pine woods above Heartsease Farm just as heavy raindrops began to fall . She had prolonged her ramble unseasonably , and it was now nearly night , and very certainly a rainy night at that . She was three miles from home and without even an extra wrap . She hurried down the lane , but by the time she reached the main road , the few drops had become a downpour . She must seek shelter somewhere , and Heartsease Farm was the nearest . She pushed open the gate and ran up the slope of the yard between the hedges of sweetbriar . She was spared the trouble of knocking , for as she came to a breathless halt on the big red sandstone doorstep , the door was flung open , and the white-haired , happy-faced little woman standing on the threshold had seized her hand and drawn her in bodily before she could speak a word . `` I saw you coming from upstairs , '' said Aunt Flora gleefully , `` and I just ran down as fast as I could . Dear , dear , you are a little wet . But we 'll soon dry you . Come right in -- I 've a bit of a fire in the grate , for the evening is chilly . They laughed at me for loving a fire so , but there 's nothing like its snap and sparkle . You 're rained in for the night , and I 'm as glad as I can be . I know who you are -- you are Miss Foster . I 'm Aunt Flora , and this is Uncle Charles . ''
Constance let herself be put into a cushiony chair and fussed over with an unaccustomed sense XXXXX pleasure .
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