Itwas poor Jody who would be smothering in that hot
little atticroom.
The barn was in a pasture field that had gone
spruce. Ive a yen for sleeping in ahay loft, Jane.
It was not notoriously tidy but there was acertain
hominess about it that Jane liked. For the first time in her life, Im guessing, she
wantedsomething her mother wouldnt get for her. Not only ofthe Bible but of all the
poetry he read to her that summer.
I knew it theminute I saw you walking up the lane.
He could have had any Islandgirl he liked.
Who knew but that the elves were reallyout in the
fern? Id like to go on living forever and hearing the news. Does she laugh like that
yet, Jane Stuart?
Someone she did not like used to be rather good at
readinghabitant poetry .
Jane suppressed several sighs and then allowed one
to escape her. Ah, that would be your grandmothers doings.
She had told him shealways found those subjects
hard. I love making jam, she said, when dad asked her why she bothered. He had a
voice that would make anything sound beautiful.
Ah, Im not upto much now but I was a smart woman in
my day, Jane Stuart. She wasyaller and spindling then but shes grown into a handsome
woman. Somehow, she couldntsleep; she didnt especially want to. Id have senther off
with a flea in her ear . Your pas folks werent any more infavour of the match than
your mas. She walked round Jimmy Johns farm with him every Sundaymorning and judged
the crops.
Though a good many times Jane didnt know exactly
what hewas laughing at.
Jane set out after supper for Little Aunt
Ems.
Some ofthese days Im going to scrape up enough
spunk to go in a car. When Im not, nobody can get a word out of me.
He says he can write himself but it is the
spellingsticks him. It was not notoriously tidy but there was acertain hominess
about it that Jane liked. She stooped and drank, cuppingthe water in her brown palm.