He fiddled for her and fed the flame
of her imagination. She was the sunniest creature he had ever known;
the bleak life of Lonely Farm had spurred her to greater lengths of
self-defence; nothing could daunt her. She had an absorbing curiosity
about life, out and beyond the Kenmore confines; and more to keep his own
memory clear than to satisfy Priscilla, Farwell set himself to the task
of educating the girl in ways that would have appalled Nathaniel and
reduced Theodora again to tears and apprehension.
The bare room of the master's house was the stage upon which were set, in
turn, the scenes of distant city life. Vicariously Priscilla learned the
manners of a "real lady" under the most trying circumstances. Farwell
told her of plays, operas, and, over his deal table, they chatted in
brilliant restaurants. They walked gay streets and stood bewildered
before flashing shop windows. It was all dangerous, but fascinating, and
in the playing of the game Farwell grew old and drawn, while Priscilla
gradually came into her Heart's Desire of delight.
"My Road!" she proudly thought. "My Road!"
The old poem was recalled and was often repeated like a litany, while
life became more and more vital and thrilling with dull Kenmore as a
background and setting.
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