Mrs.Ralston never asked for confidences though she probably received more than any other woman in the station.
It was on a day in September of drifting clouds and unbroken rain that Stella spoke at length of a resolution that had been gradually forming in her mind.

She found no difficulty in speaking; in fact it seemed the natural thing to do.

And she felt even as she gave utterance to the words that Mrs.Ralston already knew their import.
"Mary," she said, "after Christmas I am going back to England." Mrs.Ralston betrayed no surprise.

She was in the midst of an elaborate darn in the heel of a silk sock.

She looked across at Stella gravely.
"And when you get there, my dear ?" she said.
"I shall find some work to do." Stella spoke with the decision of one who gives utterance to the result of careful thought.