Shewroteletterslongandloving，toRossdaily;tohermothertwiceaweek;andbythehelpofhersister’sauthoritysucceededinmaintainingafairlycompetentservantinherdesertedplace。
\"Fatherwasboundhewouldn’t，\"hersisterwroteher;\"butIstoodrightuptohim，IcannowI’mmarried！——andGeraldtoo——thathe’dnorighttotakeitoutofmotherevenifhewasmadwithyou。Hemadeafussaboutyourpayingforthegirl——butthatwasonlyshowingoff——_he_couldn’tpayforherjustnow——that’scertain。Andshedoesverywell——agoodstronggirl，andquitedevotedtomother。\"Andthenshescoldedfuriouslyabouthersister’s\"workingout。\"
Dianthaknewjusthowharditwasforhermother。Shehadfacedallsidesofthequestionbeforedeciding。
\"Yourmothermissesyoubadly，ofcourse，\"Rosswroteher。\"IgoinasoftenasIcanandcheerherupabit。It’snotjustthework——shemissesyou。Bytheway——sodoI。\"Heexpressedhisviewsonhernewemployment。
Dianthausedtocryoverherlettersquiteoften。Butshewouldputthemaway，dryhereyes，andworkonattheplansshewasmaturing，withgrimcourage。\"It’shardonthemnow，\"shewouldsaytoherself。\"Itshardonme——some。Butwe’llallbebetteroffbecauseofit，andnotonlyus——buteverybody！\"