By this time Luce had arranged the room all it wanted arranging, and as
Mr. Wilmot had no further need of her services, she left him to think of
what she had said. He did not know that the bright red ribbon, which
appeared on Luce's neck next morning, was the gift of Julia, who had
bribed her to say what she did to him. Julia knew that she had made a
favorable impression on Mr. Wilmot by making him think meanly of Fanny.
What Luce said had its effect upon him, too. He was accustomed to the
refinements of the North and he could not help respecting a young lady
more who showed a taste for neatness. That night he dreamed that a bright
pair of dark eves were looking at him from each pane of shingle in the
window, and that a golden-haired fairy was dancing the Polka in Aunt
Judy's hoe cake batter.