The Richest Heart

Chapter 32

"I guess I haven't been very nice to her," she thought with a grumble. "But I can't help it!" she added desperately. "She's so...so practical. And she's so nosy. She always tries to give me advice about things. It's as if she thinks I'm a heathen!" Emiline bit her finger nail and cringed. Her excuse for being upset was weak and she knew it. "I suppose she means the best, though," she admitted. Then, letting go of a little more pride she added, "and...maybe she's right. I don't know. But, I still don't think it's any of her business to know what kind of books I read or what I do. After all, I don't do bad things...or at least...I don't mean to." Her conscience started tormenting her, like a righteous judge sentencing her to a penalty. Not everything she did was good; she knew that deep inside. She knew that half of the books she read couldn't be called Christian, but if she thought any harder about it, she would have to start giving up the things she loved.

Shaking her worries away, she turned back to the glass door and wondered around through the halls until she found her own bedroom again. Then, she sat on her bed, waiting for her friends to wake up and trying to justify herself. Even if Grandma was right, she didn't want to think that the old woman's keen conscience mattered. Did everything Emma did have to be perfect and squeaky clean? She loved to dive into the world of fiction and live the part of a heroine or a damsel in distress as she read.

She liked the good things in those books and she always ignored the bad things. Wasn't that alright? Dotty wouldn't have thought so. She never liked books unless they were completely good. But, where was the fun in a book like that? Before she could reason any more, she heard a gentle tap on her door.

"Come in," Emma called. In half a second, Susan burst inside with childish joy. Anna followed her with ladylike dignity, but her face was aglow with the same delight.

"Come, Emiline!" the young lady said brightly. "We have only two hours to get ourselves ready. Then we three shall fly away and be free!" All of Emma's worries vanished instantly.

"Wonderful!" she cried. "Where are we going?" Anna grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"To as many shops as we can!" she answered excitedly. "Now, come along girls! We must get ourselves dressed and ready."

Emiline followed Anastasia and Susan through the house to a room that was twice as big as the one she had slept in that night. This room was decorated with light, pink wallpaper, silk roses and every kind of lace. It was Anna's own bedroom, and in one corner, there was a huge mirror and a beautiful vanity.

A distant music sounded in the house as Anastasia tugged on a bell's rope. Then, she and Susan hurried forward and sat down in front of the mirror, staring at their reflections with satisfaction.

"I think I'll use the emerald hair pin this time," Anna said, pulling her curly hair up and testing her jeweled pin thoughtfully.

"I wish I could wear my hair up," Susan sighed. "But Mother says that it would make me look too old and I suppose she's right." She grabbed a large bow and pulled part of her satiny, golden hair into it.

Anastasia and her cousin went on and on for a while, but Emma stood near the doorway feeling out of place. She didn't know what to do with herself. The girls were putting on perfumes and deciding on which necklaces to wear. But she couldn't do any of those things. She hadn't brought any jewelry, and her Sunday dress looked dingy and shabby compared to the lovely things in Anna's wardrobe.

Soon, a maid came into the room, answering the bell that her young mistress had rung. She got to work immediately, waiting on Anna and Susan hand and foot. Suddenly, Susan looked over her shoulder in concern.