“By the time we got home, I was so angry and told mama all about it. But angry as I was, her anger frightened mine out of me. ‘The insolent woman!’ she cried. ‘But I’ll have my revenge of her—that you shall soon see! My children aren’t good enough for her tradesman-fellow, aren’t they! She said that, did she? She isn’t the only one has got eyes in her head! Didn’t you ever see me look at him sharp as she did at you? If ever face told tale without meaning to tell it, that’s the face of the young man you call Richard! I’ll take my oath who was his father, and he’s your father too!’

“I’m not telling you exactly what she said, miss, because when she loses her temper, poor mama doesn’t always speak quite like a lady. I said no more, but I thought how kindly Richard always looked at me, and my heart grew big inside to think that Arthur and I had him for our very own brother. Nobody could take that away. He had notions I didn’t like—for, do you know, Barbara, that he believes there’s no more life after this.”

She paused. “He can’t have loved anybody much to be able to think that! I don’t think he even believes in God at all. I’m certain you don’t agree with him, miss. But I thought if he was my brother, I might be able to help change his mind about it. I thought I would be so good to him that he wouldn’t want me to die forever and would then come to see things differently.”

Barbara nodded. “Go on,” she said.

“I had no friend, not one, you see, miss—Barbara, I mean—except Arthur, and he never has much to say about anything, though he’s true as steel. I thought what it would be like to have a brother like Richard for a friend. Most brothers are not friends to poor girls. So I said to mama that, now we knew all about it, there could be no reason why we shouldn’t see as much of each other as we liked, seeing Richard was our brother. But she paid no heed to me.”

Alice paused. “It isn’t our fault—is it, Barbara?”

“Your fault!” cried Barbara. “What do you mean?”

“People treat us as if it were.”

“Never you mind. You’ve got a Father in heaven to see to that.”

“Thank you, Barbara! You make me so happy. Well, after she had sat a while, suddenly my mother’s face lit up. ‘I’ll not have my own children looked down on by Mrs. Bookbinder!’ She said, ‘He’s no better than my children, and she’s no better than me!’