`` I thought Peter ought to be warned in time , '' she said . Even Pat had a ribbon of blue , which he clawed off and lost half an hour after it was tied on him . Pat did not care for vain adornments of the body . We had a glorious Christmas dinner , fit for the halls of Lucullus , and ate far more than was good for us , none daring to make us afraid on that one day of the year . And in the evening -- oh , rapture and delight ! -- we went to Kitty Marr 's party . It was a fine December evening ; the sharp air of morning had mellowed until it was as mild as autumn . There had been no snow , and the long fields , sloping down from the homestead , were brown and mellow . A weird , dreamy stillness had fallen on the purple earth , the dark fir woods , the valley rims , the sere meadows . Nature seemed to have folded satisfied hands to rest , knowing that her long wintry slumber was coming upon her . At first , when the invitations to the party had come , Aunt Janet had said we could not go ; but Uncle Alec interceded in our favour , perhaps influenced thereto by Cecily 's wistful eyes . If Uncle Alec had a favourite among his children it was Cecily , and he had grown even more indulgent towards her of late . Now and then I saw him looking at her intently , and , following his eyes and thought , I had , somehow , seen that Cecily was paler and thinner than she had been in the summer , and that her soft eyes seemed larger , and that over her little face in moments of repose there was a certain languor and weariness that made it very sweet and pathetic . And I heard him tell Aunt Janet that he did not like to see the child getting so much the look of her Aunt Felicity . `` Cecily is perfectly well , '' said Aunt Janet sharply . `` She 's only growing very fast . Do n't be foolish , Alec . '' But after that Cecily had cups of cream where the rest of us got only milk ; and Aunt Janet was very particular to see that she had her rubbers on whenever she went out . On this merry Christmas evening , however , no fears or dim foreshadowings of any coming event clouded our hearts or faces . Cecily looked brighter and prettier than I had ever seen her , with her softly shining eyes and the nut brown gloss of her hair .
Felicity was too beautiful for words ; and even the Story Girl , between excitement and the crimson silk array , blossomed out with a charm and allurement more potent XXXXX any regular loveliness -- and this in spite of the fact that Aunt Olivia had tabooed the red satin slippers and mercilessly decreed that stout shoes should be worn .
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