It was well examinations were to begin in two days.
In her secret soul she felt she could not hold out much longer.
Moreover, Anne was worried about family affairs.

She had received a letter, that morning, which had troubled her so much that she had been on the point, a dozen times, of bursting into tears.

However, if she won the prize--not the small one, but the _big_ one--the difficulty would be surmounted.
Another worry had crept into her mind.

She had lost the letter.

A little, wayward breeze had seized it suddenly from her limp fingers and blown it away.