Lucina and her mother were away some three months; it was late spring when they returned.

It had been told in Upham that Lucina was quite well, but when people saw her they differed as to her appearance.
"She looks dreadful delicate now, accordin' to my way of thinkin'," some of the women, spying sharply upon her from their sitting-room windows and their meeting-house pews, reported.
Jerome saw her for the first time after her return when she followed her father and mother up the aisle one Sunday in May when all the orchards were white.

He thought, with a great throb of joy, that she looked quite well, that she must be well.

If the red and white of her cheeks was a little too clear, he did not appreciate it.

She was all in white, like the trees, with some white blossoms and plumes on her hat.
After meeting, he lingered a little on the porch, though Elmira was walking on, with frequent pauses turning her head and looking for him.