She followed Grace upstairs with an unaccustomed meekness that made Grace marvel as to what had suddenly wrought so marked a change in this hitherto disagreeable senior.
Once the two girls were seated opposite each other, Alberta leaned forward and said earnestly: "I know that you must dislike me very, very much, Miss Harlowe, and I always supposed that I disliked you even more, but I have lately come to the conclusion that I admire you more than any girl I know." Grace looked at her guest in uncomprehending wonder.

Could this be the sneering, insolent Miss Wicks who was speaking?
There was no sign of a sneer on her face now.

She spoke with a simple directness that could not fail to impress the most sceptical.

"I have been hearing about you from a source entirely outside Overton," she continued, "from a Smith College senior who lives in Oakdale.

She visited a friend of mine during the holidays.