Kate dropped on her bed and cried into her pillow, as she never had cried before about anything.
It was not ALL about the hat.

While she was at it, she shed a few tears about every cruel thing that had happened to her since she could remember that she had borne tearlessly at the time.

It was a deluge that left her breathless and exhausted.

When she finally sat up, she found the room so close, she gently opened her door and peeped into the hall.

There was a door opening on an outside veranda, running across the end of the building and the length of the front.
As she looked from her door and listened intently, she heard the sound of a woman's voice in choking, stifled sobs, in the room having a door directly across the narrow hall from hers.
"My Lord! THERE'S TWO OF US!" said Kate.
She leaned closer, listening again, but when she heard a short groan mingled with the sobs, she immediately tapped on the door.