Anne was normally friendly with Amy. The girls were very different in character, but Amy was nice to her and they were close in age, had been in school together, and their fathers were friends. Today, however, she was annoyed by the girl's presence, all the more when her question confirmed Anne's suspicion that she too wanted to have her gossip first hand. "She felt sick, so she went home to rest." Anne said, without looking up. It wasn't entirely a lie. Alice had been sickly lately.