She was so glad he didn't want to go--for just one minute she had been horribly frightened.

And it was so nice to have Walter confiding his troubles to her--to her, not Di.

She didn't feel so lonely and superfluous any longer.
"Don't you despise me, Rilla-my-Rilla ?" asked Walter wistfully.
Somehow, it hurt him to think Rilla might despise him--hurt him as much as if it had been Di.

He realized suddenly how very fond he was of this adoring kid sister with her appealing eyes and troubled, girlish face.
"No, I don't.

Why, Walter, hundreds of people feel just as you do.