"I will try," she whispered.

"You know, my dear, that Mrs. Rushton was very good to you while she
lived, yet you had no real claim on her, and now that she is gone you
are as much alone as if you had never seen her."

Mrs. Enderby was surprised by Hetty's swift answer.

"More alone," she said, with a stern look in her young face; "for if she
had not taken me I could have stayed with Mrs. Kane. I should have loved
Mrs. Kane, and now I do not love her."

"There is some truth in all that," said Mrs. Enderby; "but at all
events, my dear, you have enjoyed many advantages during the last five
or six years. There is no question now of your going back to Mrs. Kane.
Mr. Enderby will not allow it."

"Grant says there are cheap ways of providing for friendless children,"
said Hetty, whose tongue had become dry in her mouth with fear of what
might come next.

"Never mind what Grant says," said Mrs. Enderby; "attend only to what I
tell you. Mr. Enderby and I have thought deeply over your future, Hetty,
and we are really anxious to do what is best for you."

Hetty said nothing. All the powers of her mind were strained in
wondering expectation of what she was now going to hear.

"We have been advised to send you to a school where you would be made
fit to provide for yourself when you become a woman," continued the