I suppose they were afraid of Emmeline . Prissy 's beauty soon faded . She was always kind of sweet looking , but her bloom went , and she got shyer and limper every year of her life . She would n't have dared put on her second best dress without asking Emmeline 's permission . She was real fond of cats and Emmeline would n't let her keep one . Emmeline even cut the serial out of the religious weekly she took before she would give it to Prissy , because she did n't believe in reading novels . It used to make me furious to see it all . They were my next door neighbours after I married Thomas , and I was often in and out . Sometimes I 'd feel real vexed at Prissy for giving in the way she did ; but , after all , she could n't help it -- she was born that way . And now Stephen was going to try his luck again . It certainly did seem funny . Stephen walked home with Prissy from prayer meeting four nights before Emmeline found it out . Emmeline had n't been going to prayer meeting all that summer because she was mad at Mr. Leonard . She had expressed her disapproval to him because he had buried old Naomi Clark at the harbour `` just as if she was a Christian , '' and Mr. Leonard had said something to her she could n't get over for a while . I do n't know what it was , but I know that when Mr. Leonard WAS roused to rebuke anyone the person so rebuked remembered it for a spell . All at once I knew she must have discovered about Stephen and Prissy , for Prissy stopped going to prayer meeting . I felt real worried about it , someway , and although Thomas said for goodness ' sake not to go poking my fingers into other people 's pies , I felt as if I ought to do something . Stephen Clark was a good man and Prissy would have a beautiful home ; and those two little boys of Althea 's needed a mother if ever boys did . Besides , I knew quite well that Prissy , in her secret soul , was hankering to be married . So was Emmeline , too -- but nobody wanted to help HER to a husband .
The upshot of my meditations was XXXXX I asked Stephen down to dinner with us from church one day .
about at because if on out that to with without