CHAPTER XXIX. “BONY.”
Mrs. Ellmother reluctantly entered the room.
Since Emily had seen her last, her personal appearance doubly justified the nickname by which her late mistress had distinguished her. The old servant was worn and wasted; her gown hung loose on her angular body; the big bones of her face stood out, more prominently than ever. She took Emily’s offered hand doubtingly. “I hope I see you well, miss,” she said—with hardly a vestige left of her former firmness of voice and manner.
“I am afraid you have been suffering from illness,” Emily answered gently.
“It’s the life I’m leading that wears me down; I want work and change.”
Making that reply, she looked round, and discovered Francine observing her with undisguised curiosity. “You have got company with you,” she said to Em
