Those words stung more than any so far. Not a day went by without thinking of how miserable and lonely and scared her sister was, and it would trample what little joy there was in her own day and leave it void and gloomy. Alice cried. It brought a fresh lump to her throat.

She placed her own hand on Lory's. "I'm not ashamed of 'er, Lory. And I'm not ashamed of ye. I feel sorry and I don't want to see ye hurt."