grief. When little more than a week had
passed after Mr Redfern's death, Effie was obliged to return to the
ruling and guiding of her noisy little kingdom. She went sadly enough;
and many an anxious thought went back to the household at home. But she
could not choose but go. They had agreed among themselves that there
should be no change till after the harvest should be gathered in, and in
the meantime, all the help that she could give was needed. Her monthly
wages were growing doubly precious in her estimation. They were the
chief dependence at home.

The sowing and planting had been on a limited scale this spring, and all
outdoor matters, except what pertained to the dairy, could very well be
attended to by James Cairns, their hired man, who was strong and
willing. So Annie and Sarah were in the house, and the little ones went
to school as soon as the summer weather came.

As for Christie, little was expected from her besides attending to Aunt
Elsie, and reading to her now and then. These were easy enough duties,
one would think, considering how little attention Aunt Elsie was willing
to accept from any one. But light as they were, Christie could not
hide, and did not always _try_ to hide, the truth that they were irksome
to her.

Poor little Christie! How miserable she was, often! How mortified and
ashamed of herself! This was all so different from what she had meant
to be when Effie went away--a help and a comfort to all. There were
times when she strove bravely with herself: she strove to be less
peevish, and to join the rest in their efforts to be useful and
cheerful; but she almost always failed, and every new failure left her
less able and less willing to try again.

But Christie was not so much to blame for these shortcomings as she had
sometimes been. The great reaction from the efforts and anxieties
before her father's death, as well as the shock of that event, left her
neither strength nor power to exert herself or to interest herself in
what was passing. Her sisters meant kindly in claiming no help about
the household work from her, but they made a mistake in so doing.
Active work, that would have really tired her, and left her no time for
melancholy musings, would have been far better for her. As it was, she
could apply herself to no employment, not even her favourite reading.
Her time, when not immediately under her aunt's eye, was passed in
listless wanderings to and fro, or in sitti