Dear Miss Meg by Ruth Lamb

NELLY CORRY'S active fingers were never idle, and her cleverness, good taste, and modest manners were the means of introducing her to the best houses in the neighbourhood, as well as to Northbrook Hall. One of her customers, a childless widow, resided in a pretty cottage about half a mile from it.

This lady, Mrs. Moffat, was much interested in the little seamstress, who was so good a daughter and so industrious, and very often made the girl bring her work into her own sitting-room. There the actual stitching was done, the cutting and snipping being effected in the little workroom proper. Mrs. Moffat would encourage Nelly's artless talk, which had in it no suggestion of gossip or scandal. It was usually about the mother, or the married brothers and sisters, in whom Mrs. Moffat took a kindly interest. It charmed her to note how Nelly's innocent face brightened as she spoke of her many blessings, and persistently brought the bright side to the front during these conversations.