Bye-bye, girls."
"Bye, Sorpiala," said Si'Wren, smiling fondly.
But Nelatha did not return the farewell, and when Sorpiala was gone,
Si'Wren stood motionless for a long time, as motionless as any dumb
graven idol, as she struggled with some nameless, faceless inner
turmoil in her effort to take proper stock of the situation.
Why was Nelatha so troubled, and so unwilling to so much as speak of it?
* * *
In the following days, Sorpiala seemed to harbor a special look of
affection which she secretly displayed for Si'Wren's eyes only,
whenever they chanced to meet. It gave Si'Wren the most deep-down,
sisterly feeling for Sorpiala, and made her feel inexpressibly
contented with life.
But with each passing day, Nelatha became if possible even more
fearful, and finally, she would no longer so much as speak scarcely a
word to Si'Wren or even acknowledge her presence with so much as a nod,
causing Si'Wren much anguish when they worked together in the spice
tent at their labors and causing her to long desperately for their
former good times together.
Whenever Master Rababull would chance to pass by, he would nod and beam
and smile at her, filling Si'Wren's day with consternation and no
little dismay that she should feel so dumb about everything.
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