Kate saw Nancy Ellen's head fall forward, and her hands lifted to cover her face.

She heard the deep, tearing sob that shook her, and then they were gone.

She did not know what to do, so she stood still in the hot sunshine, trying to think; but her brain refused to act at her will.
When the heat became oppressive, she turned back to the shade of a tree, sat down, and leaned against it.

There she got two things clear after a time.

She had married George Holt, there was nothing to do but make the best of it.