Concordia was too exhausted from the events of the past three days to put up much of a protest. It had taken all of her energy to insist to Mother that she would be perfectly fine recuperating at her college residence. Before she retired, however, she couldn’t help but notice the special attention the girls paid to David. “Oh, Mr. Bradley!” one girl exclaimed. “Don’t leave us so soon. Ruby has made tea, and her scones are divine. Won’t you stay?” With a sideways grin at Concordia, David had agreed. Concordia, of course, knew the young ladies would pump him for information about the engagement and future wedding plans. Miraculously, word of her engagement had not spread. She learned after the fact that Ruby had sat the girls down and sternly sworn them to secrecy until such time that Miss Wells decided to give them leave to talk about it. Concordia was touched by the respect for her privacy. So far the girls had been true to their word, not even speaking of it to the rest of their cottage-mates.
