This meant pain sharper and more prolonged, yet she managed it, and, with that, clenched her teeth hard to keep down a cry.

The child could swear, on occasion, like a trooper; but this was a fancy accomplishment.

Just now, when an oath would have come naturally to a man, she felt only a choking in the throat, and swallowed it down with a sob.
On the paper were four lines, written in pencil in a cramped hand; and, alas! though Tilda could read print, she had next to no acquaintance with handwriting.
The words were a blur to her.

She stared at them; but what she saw was the gaze of the sick woman, upturned to her from the bed.

The scrap of paper hid it, and yet she saw.